Yutu (Northwestern Pacific Ocean)

Nov. 02, 2018 – NASA Finds Tropical Depression Yutu Fading off China Coast

Once a Super Typhoon, now a ghost of its former self, Tropical Depression Yutu was fading off the coast of southeastern China on Nov.2 when NASA’s Aqua satellite passed overhead.

Aqua image of Yutu
NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of Tropical Depression Yutu fading off the coast of southeastern China on Nov. 2. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)

The MODIS instrument or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer that flies aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Yutu on Nov. 2. Although the storm weakened to a depression, the center of circulation was still apparent on the MODIS imagery. The center was surrounded by wispy clouds and the bulk of clouds and any precipitation was falling north of the center and over China.

On Thursday, Nov. 1 at 11 p.m. EDT (0300 UTC on Nov. 2) Yutu’s maximum sustained winds were near 25 knots (28.7 mph/46.3 kph).

It was centered at 20.7 north latitude and 116.2 east longitude, about 155 nautical miles southeast of Hong Kong, China. Yutu was crawling to the northwest.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) forecasts Yutu to dissipate by the end of the day.

By Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center