NASA's Aqua satellite catches Typhoon Noru's 10 mile-wide eye

NASA's Aqua satellite provided a look at the eye of Typhoon Noru as it continued to track west in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The eye appeared to be about 10 nautical miles wide in satellite imagery.

On July 27 at 03:00 UTC (July 26 at 11 p.m. EDT) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible-light image of Typhoon Noru. The eye appeared to be somewhat cloud-filled on visible imagery. The MODIS image showed a thick band of powerful thunderstorms surrounding the eye and a large, thick band of thunderstorms north to northeast of the center.

Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on July 27, Noru's maximum sustained winds were near 86.3 mph (75 knots/139 kph). It was centered near 30.5 degrees north latitude and 147.6 degrees east longitude. That's about 391 miles northeast of Chichi Jima Island, Japan. Noru was moving west at 20.7 mph (18 knots/33.3 kph).

Noru is expected to maintain typhoon status over the next several days as it continues to curve to the southwest. The JTWC forecast takes the typhoon's eye very close to the island of Iwo To, Japan by July 31.