WeatherFanatics: Typhoon Wipha Slams Tokyo, Targets Northeast Japan

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Typhoon Wipha Slams Tokyo, Targets Northeast Japan

October 15,2013; 8:14PM,EDT

The above image is a satellite capture of Wipha on Monday, courtesy of NOAA.

Tens of millions of people in Japan have already felt the wrath of Typhoon Wipha as the storm now races northeastward off the east coast of Japan.
Winds of hurricane force lashed parts of the greater Tokyo area as rainfall reached between 150 mm and 300 mm (6 to 12 inches).
The center of Wipha tracked within 50 to 100 miles southeast of Tokyo early Wednesday morning, local time, having top sustained winds comparable to a minimal hurricane.

While no damage has yet to be reported, winds of this magnitude can lead to downed trees, widespread power outages and structural damage.
The storm was sailing towards the northeast at a brisk 35 mph Wednesday morning, leading the storm's torrential rain to lift north of Tokyo and into northeastern Japan.
As the storm made its nearest approach to Tokyo, winds at the Haneda Airport gusted to 73 mph. At Tateyama, on the south coast of Tokyo, top winds were clocked at 94 mph.

Rainfall was about 200 mm (8 inches) in the city of Tokyo, but the greatest rainfall amount so far was recorded on the island of Oshima, south of Tokyo Bay, where rainfall amounts reached more than 815 mm (32 inches).
After moving through Tokyo Wednesday morning, Whipa brought soaking rains and strong winds to Sendai, northeast of Tokyo. While these rains and winds were not as severe as they were in Tokyo due to the storm weakening a bit, the concerns remain the same.
Wednesday afternoon and evening the brunt of Whipa's heavy rain and slashing wind will target northern Honshu through eastern Hokkaido before pulling quickly away to the northeast.
After departing to the northeast, the storm center will set its sights on the Kuril Islands.
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In Tokyo, the weather will improve rapidly during the remainder of the day Wednesday.
However in areas that received extensive drenching rain, extensive flash flooding and mudslides will remain an imminent concerns.

Wipha is now the eighth typhoon of 2013 and also the 26th named tropical cyclone of the year, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Another cyclone with the potential to strengthen into a typhoon will develop later this week near the Mariana Islands, resurfacing the threat for damaging winds and flooding rainfall across Japan by the middle of next week.
AccuWeather.com Meteorologists Courtney Spamer and Eric Leister contributed content to this story.

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