At 0347 UTC on Dec. 3, NASA's TRMM satellite flew above a dangerous typhoon Bopha. Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) to hit the island of Mindinao in the Philippines with winds of 135 kts (155 mph) later today.

This 3-D image from TRMM's Precipitation Radar showed some strong convective thunderstorms on the eastern side of Bopha's eye were reaching heights of over 16 km (~9.94 miles).

A TRMM analysis showed that Bopha had a well-defined eye with very heavy rain falling at a rate of over 80mm/hr (~3.1 inches) falling in the eye and in intense rain bands spiraling around the eye.

Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce [link to www.nasa.gov]