Super Typhoon Soudelor is not only the strongest tropical cyclone of 2015, but also the most striking, based on images from satellites and a lucky Japanese astronaut aboard the International Space Station. Kimiya Yui, a new addition to the ISS, took a picture of Soudelor on Tuesday, when the storm had winds of 160 miles per hour, or 140 knots, with gusts to 195 miles per hour, or 170 knots (it has since weakened slightly).  Soudelor's winds maxed out late Monday eastern time at an incredible 180 mile-per-hour super typhoon, with gusts estimated above 200 miles per hour. The storm is moving over cooler ocean waters now, which is somewhat diminishing its intensity. A slow weakening trend is forecast as the storm moves steadily northwestward, toward a potential landfall in Japan's Ryukyu Islands (some of which are disputed by China) on Aug. 7, followed by another potential landfall near Taipei, Taiwan as a strong Category 2 or 3 storm on Aug. 8.  From there, the storm is likely to move into coastal China as a Category 1 or 2 storm, although forecasts this far in advance, of both storm track and intensity, have considerable uncertainty.  Satellite view of Super Typhoon Soudelor on Monday August 3, 2015, when it had estimated sustained winds of about 180 miles per hour.  But for the time being, the storm is simply a meteorological marvel over open ocean waters, harming mainly fish and any ships that are unlucky enough to be in its path — considering it is roiling the seas to heights of 50 feet or more.  猛烈な強さの台風が接近中です。台風の情報に注意し、準備を怠りなく行って下さい。Very strong Typhoon is moving toward Taiwan. Please be prepared and be safe. pic.twitter.com/KSDLieZwCL  — 油井 亀美也 Kimiya.Yui (@Astro_Kimiya) August 4, 2015  Japan's Himawari Satellite takes images at a higher resolution and with a greater frequency than current U.S. weather satellites, leading to gorgeous loops that meteorologists have been sharing on Twitter.  A gorgeous high-resolution visible satellite loop of Category 5 Supertyphoon #Soudelor HT @DanLindsey77 #Typhoon pic.twitter.com/kaEkaiKSqT  — Eric Blake (@EricBlake12) August 4, 2015  Super Typhoon Soudelor is the planet's sixth Category 5 storm to form this year. Meteorologist Ryan Maue put the storm's intensity into perspective by comparing it to the historical database of West Pacific typhoons. In a Tweet, Maue said the storm's 180-mile-per-hour, or 155-knot, winds on Monday put the storm in the top 1% of all typhoons between 1950 and 2014. This put it in the "most extreme subset of winds," he said.  1950-2014 historical Typhoon archive:172 track points of Typhoons ≥ 155-knots out of total of 17800 = 1%Most extreme subset of winds.  — Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) August 3, 2015  Soudelor is the 51st super typhoon to reach at least 180 miles per hour, or 155-knots, since 1950, he Tweeted.  Super Typhoon Soudelor as seen from the ISS livecam on Tuesday August 4, 2015.  While residents of Taiwan and southeastern China are familiar with the risks from Typhoons, Soudelor could do significant damage in both areas if it manages to maintain some semblance of its most formidable strength and comes ashore as the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane. The Chinese city most directly threatened, based on computer model simulations, is Fuzhou, in Fujian Province, with a population of about 2.1 million. The storm track will be refined as landfall approaches.  Typhoon #Soudelor was spotted from space yesterday traveling in the western Pacific with winds of more than 160mph. pic.twitter.com/nsYxYvLfkp  — Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) August 5, 2015  One thing that does not appear likely is for this storm to dissipate completely or recurve harmlessly out to sea before hitting land again. It already caused significant damage on the island of Saipan, in the Mariana Islands.
From the Space Station to weather satellites, Super Typhoon Soudelor has wowed meteorologists as it churns toward a dangerous encounter with Taiwan.