One of the most powerful early-season storms in the Pacific brought more than just devastating weather. As Super Typhoon Shinraku rapidly strengthened in April 2026, it also created huge atmospheric ripples that extended all the way to the Earth’s sky, giving scientists rare experience in how tropical cyclones affect everything from weather forecasts to satellite communications.
In mid-April 2026, Super Typhoon Shinraku struck the North Pacific Ocean, bringing heavy rain and flooding to the Mariana Islands. The storm reached “severe typhoon” status, the highest classification used by the Japan Meteorological Agency, and was roughly equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson anemometer.
Meteorologists noted that this region of the Pacific Ocean has only experienced such severe storms so early in the year.
As Shinraku strengthened over the open ocean, satellites began to detect signs that its effects were extending far beyond the storm itself. The typhoon not only reshaped sea-level conditions, but also disrupted the atmospheric layers miles above our heads.
Satellite captures rare atmospheric gravity waves
Nighttime images collected by the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument aboard the NOAA-20 satellite revealed atmospheric gravity waves radiating outward from the storm.
These waves are similar to the ripples created when a stone is dropped into a pond. In this case, they became visible through a phenomenon known as mesosphere airglow. Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules absorb energy from sunlight during the day and release that excess energy as light after dark.
Scientists have long known that intense tropical cyclones generate powerful convection near the eyewall. The heat released during the storm causes towering cumulonimbus clouds known as “hot towers.” These clouds can extend beyond the troposphere, the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere, and create waves that travel upward into the stratosphere and mesosphere.
Previous research has shown that gravitational waves occur more frequently when tropical cyclones strengthen. Shinraku followed that pattern. In the 24 hours leading up to the satellite images taken, the storm dramatically intensified from Category 2 strength to Category 5 strength.
“We’re seeing waves propagating radially upward in a cone,” said Joanne Alexander, senior research scientist at Northwest Research Associates.
Alexander said he was surprised to see a nearly complete ring visible in the mesosphere airglow above the storm. Typically, winds in the upper atmosphere can weaken or disperse gravity waves before they reach such heights. However, the stratospheric winds at Shinraku’s latitude in April 2026 were relatively weak, which may have allowed the waves to remain intact.
Favorable conditions reveal atmospheric rings
Observation conditions also played an important role.
The VIIRS day/night band can detect both mesosphere airglow and reflected moonlight. On April 12, the moon was only about 25 percent illuminated. This means that there was some moonlight reflected from clouds in the lower atmosphere, but not enough to overwhelm the much weaker airglow signal.
The gravitational waves produced by Sinlaku were observed in multiple layers of the atmosphere. The AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite detected a wave in the lower stratosphere on April 13th.
The characteristic ripple pattern reappeared in observations collected on April 14, indicating that the storm’s effects on the atmosphere persisted for several days.
Why gravitational waves are important for weather forecasting
Scientists say studying the gravitational waves produced by tropical cyclones is about more than understanding interesting atmospheric phenomena.
These waves could eventually help forecasters identify when storms are rapidly intensifying, especially in remote parts of the ocean where direct observations are limited, Alexander said.
“We want to use gravity waves to tell if a storm is intensifying, which is difficult to tell, especially over the open ocean,” Alexander said.
She and her colleagues argue that geostationary satellites equipped with appropriate thermal imaging technology could continuously monitor gravitational waves and provide new insights into tropical cyclone development.
From winter forecasts to space weather
Gravitational waves also play an important role in larger atmospheric processes.
Laura Holt, another senior researcher at Northwest Research Associates, said weather models need to account for what’s happening in the stratosphere. Stratospheric wind patterns influence long-term forecasts, including predictions of subsequent Northern Hemisphere winter conditions.
Tropical cyclones can have devastating impacts because their strong and persistent convection continuously generates gravitational waves in the stratosphere.
The impact could be even broader.
“For some time, people have been seeing traces of hurricanes in ionospheric weather,” Holt said.
Gravitational waves can cause traveling disturbances in the ionosphere, large-scale ripples in plasma density. Under some circumstances, it may also contribute to the formation of plasma bubbles. Both phenomena can interfere with satellite signals and radio communications.
“Especially in space weather, a single event like a tropical cyclone can be very important,” Holt added.
Observations of Super Typhoon Shinraku highlight how powerful storms can affect layers of the atmosphere that extend from the ocean’s surface to the ends of space, and provide scientists with valuable clues about weather, climate, and technologies that rely on stable conditions in the upper atmosphere.
