An hour after sunrise, the sun could not be seen and the sky had barely lightened. Visibility deteriorated, the seas grew mountainous, and the winds gusted higher—to 60 knots, then to 70 knots. The PPI radarscope in the Wasp, on the northern flank of Task Force 38, depicted a tightly constructed circular storm-eye passing only about 35 miles to the north.89 Halsey and his team could no longer deny it; the fleet was caught in the “dangerous semicircle” of a proper typhoon, and could do nothing but run before the wind and seas and hope for the best.
