Meteorologists can't precisely determine Phailin's current strength because there are no “hurricane hunter“ aircraft taking direct measurements of storms in the Indian Ocean basin.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), a Hawaii-based forecasting outpost of the US Navy, says Phailin is undergoing “extreme rapid intensification.”
While strengthening, the storm has grown to nearly half the size of India itself (image via University of Wisconsin)
The storm's growth, both in size and in strength, is expected to continue until landfall. The latest forecasts show Phailin hitting land on Saturday near Brahmapur, India, at the strength of a category 4 hurricane:
