A nighttime satellite image captured Typhoon Jangmi as it approached southern Japan, revealing a giant, glowing eye and intricate swirling structures inside the storm. The image, taken from space on May 31, 2026, shows a storm that looked almost alive, with low level circulation features spinning along the eastern side of its eye.
A giant eye visible from space
The satellite view came from the VIIRS instrument aboard the Suomi NPP satellite. It showed Jangmi’s eye was unusually large compared with most tropical cyclones, according to Scott Braun, a research meteorologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The image also captured mesocyclones, rotating features partially hidden beneath higher clouds. Braun said these structures, while visually striking, are normal for storms of this type.
At the time of the image, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour, equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane. The storm was moving north-northwest across the Philippine Sea toward Japan.
Storm strengthens as rainbands hit land
A second satellite image, taken one day later by the NOAA-20 satellite, showed Jangmi had strengthened slightly. Sustained winds increased to 130 kilometers per hour. In both images, the storm’s center remained south of Okinawa, but its outer cloud bands had already spread over parts of Japan.
Forecasts indicated the typhoon would pass near Okinawa before turning northeast toward the Amami region around June 1-2. Meteorologists expected heavy rainfall, especially along Japan’s Pacific coastline, raising concerns about flooding and prolonged downpours.
Why local people cared
For residents of southern Japan, Jangmi was not just a spectacular sight from space. The storm’s slow movement and broad rainbands meant sustained, intense rainfall across a wide area. Flooding became a real threat, particularly in low lying coastal zones. The storm’s approach disrupted daily life and prompted close monitoring by weather agencies.
A storm’s portrait from above
The nighttime images, produced by NASA Earth Observatory using VIIRS day-night band data, offered a rare and clear look at a typhoon’s internal structure. The large eye and visible mesocyclones gave scientists and the public a vivid reminder of the complex forces at work inside a powerful storm. As Jangmi moved toward Japan, its appearance from space became a striking symbol of nature’s scale and precision.
