The rare night-time satellite view of Typhoon Surigae shows rippling atmospheric gravity waves radiating from the storm’s eye. It was captured by the VIIRS day-night band aboard Suomi NPP in the early hours of April 18, 2021—not at the same time as two other widely shared views, which were captured on April 19 by different satellites and instruments.
What the rare satellite view shows
NASA Earth Observatory’s April 20, 2021 feature, “Surigae Stirs Up the Pacific”, presents two separate VIIRS images. The night-time image reveals ripples in the atmosphere around the cyclone; a different infrared image shows cloud brightness temperatures. Neither is an ordinary color photograph, and they are not a single composite.
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| View | Capture time | Satellite and instrument | What it depicts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Night-time | Early hours of April 18, 2021 | Suomi NPP, VIIRS day-night band | Night-time view in which atmospheric gravity waves appear as ripples around the storm |
| Infrared | Around midday April 19, 2021 | NOAA-20, VIIRS | Cloud brightness temperatures, used to distinguish cooler cloud structures from the warmer surface below |
| GeoColor | Sunrise on April 19, 2021 | Himawari-8, Advanced Himawari Imager | A separate GeoColor view of Surigae east of the Philippines |
The third view was published separately by NOAA NESDIS in “Typhoon Surigae Churns Near the Philippines.” Its different capture time and instrument matter: the three images show the storm at different moments and render different information.
Why ripples appear around the eye
NASA’s feature quotes climate scientist Matthew Barlow of the University of Massachusetts–Lowell: “The intense convection associated with strong tropical cyclones can generate gravity waves that propagate upward 30 kilometers or more in the atmosphere.” The waves resemble ripples spreading across a pond, though they occur in the atmosphere on a vastly different scale.
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What an infrared image means
The NOAA-20 view represents cloud brightness temperatures. It helps reveal cloud structure and temperature patterns; it should not be read as a conventional photograph showing the storm’s natural colors.
How powerful was Typhoon Surigae?
Surigae, also known as Bising in the Philippines, became a Category 5-equivalent super typhoon on April 17, 2021. NASA Earth Observatory described that as the earliest date in the year a Northern Hemisphere storm had reached Category 5 strength in modern record-keeping. That is a specific historical record claim, not a statement about every basin or every storm classification system.
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The U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), as reported by NASA Earth Observatory, estimated peak one-minute sustained winds at 165 knots (190 mph / 305 km/h). That wind figure is an agency estimate; it is not a direct measurement made by the satellite image.
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Central-pressure figures in the official summaries do not agree. NASA Earth Observatory’s 2021 feature attributes 895 millibars to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). NASA’s later GPM page gives 985 mb for JMA and 988 mb for JTWC. Hong Kong Observatory’s 2021 report search result gives 910 hPa and 240 km/h. These figures are source-specific; the cited material does not establish why the pressure estimates differ, so they should not be combined or treated as reconciled.
NASA’s GPM visualization page, released in 2022, also traces the storm’s movement and development. Surigae formed over the western Pacific on April 13, moved northwest toward Palau, strengthened rapidly beginning April 16, reached JTWC’s cited peak wind estimate at 1800 UTC on April 17, then curved northeast and weakened offshore.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where Surigae went and who was affected
Surigae recurved offshore rather than making landfall in the Philippines. Its outer bands nevertheless brought heavy rain, gusty winds and coastal flooding. NASA Earth Observatory’s contemporaneous 2021 account reported at least one death and nearly 100,000 people evacuated from coastal areas. NASA’s retrospective GPM page, released in 2022, attributes 10 fatalities and eight people missing to the storm. Those are differently dated, source-attributed reports, not interchangeable counts.
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Rainfall over Palau
NASA’s IMERG visualization estimates that more than 300 millimeters (12 inches) accumulated over Palau between April 12 and 25, 2021. NASA says local rain gauges recorded similar accumulations during that period. This is a period total for Palau, not a claim that every part of the island group—or every affected island—received the same amount. The NASA visualization page explains the rain-rate and accumulation animation.
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