Topic: Research News

A powerful typhoon named Jangmi is heading towards Japan. Its giant eye was visible in a nighttime satellite image, with winds of up to 75 miles per hour.

Typhoon Jangmi was a large and slow-moving storm system that moved across the Philippine Sea towards southern Japan from late May into early June 2026. As it approached Japan, its rainbands delivered intense rainfall, causing concerns about flooding in several areas.

A nighttime image captured by the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite shows Jangmi's eye and surrounding eyewall. According to Scott Braun, a research meteorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the eye was relatively large compared to many tropical cyclones.

The storm continued to strengthen as it moved towards Japan. By May 31, its sustained winds had increased to 80 miles per hour. The center of the storm remained south of Okinawa, but its outer cloud bands had already spread over parts of Japan.

Forecasts indicated that the typhoon would pass near Okinawa before turning northeast towards the Amami region around June 1-2. Meteorologists expected the storm to continue producing significant rainfall, particularly along Japan's Pacific coastline.

Implications

A powerful typhoon named Jangmi is heading towards Japan. Its giant eye was visible in a nighttime satellite image, with winds of up to 75 miles per hour.