Tropical Storm Chan-hom Makes Landfall in North Korea After Brushing China as Typhoon (FORECAST)

Jon Erdman
Published: July 12,2015


 
Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall in North Korea early Monday morning (local time), marking the beginning of the end for a tropical cyclone whose long journey affected much of the western North Pacific.
Chan-hom had been moving across the Yellow Sea after briefly making landfall as a typhoon near Shanghai Saturday. A late eastward jog spared China's largest city from the worst-case scenario, but Chan-hom did bring high winds and flooding to parts of the East China seaboard.
(MORE: One Dead, Dozens Injured by Typhoon Chan-hom)
According to both the Korean Meteorological Agency and the Japan Meteorological Agency, Chan-hom made landfall shortly before 3 a.m. local time Monday (2 p.m. EDT Sunday in the U.S.) southwest of Pyongyang, North Korea. Maximum sustained winds were between 50 and 55 mph according to both agencies. The U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued its final advisory about two hours later, saying Chan-hom had weakened to a depression over North Korea.
The system's large wind field spread strong winds into South Korea more than 24 hours before landfall. Sustained winds as high as 36 mph were reported on Jeju Island, south of the Korean mainland, where a gust of 46 mph was clocked early Sunday local time. Muan, in southwestern South Korea, clocked a peak gust of 47 mph at 5 p.m. Korean time Sunday.
The small island of Heuksando, off the southwest coast of South Korea, measured a sustained wind of 45 mph Sunday morning local time as Chan-hom approached.
The Korea Meteorological Administration has issued strong wind advisories for portions of coastal South Korea, including areas near the capital, Seoul. Heavy rain advisories and warnings have been discontinued. Jeju International Airport reported 7.38 inches (187.5 millimeters) of rain in the 66 hours ending at 3 a.m. Korean time Monday (2 p.m. EDT Sunday).
Heavy rain also fell in North Korea. The capital, Pyongyang, reported 3.15 inches (80.0 millimeters) of rain as of 3 a.m. local time Monday. Torrential rains have lashed a large swath of the country, even on the east coast where Kimchaek reported 8.98 inches (228.0 millimeters) of rain in the 18-hour period ending 3 a.m. local time Monday.
Despite Chan-hom making landfall north of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea, sustained winds have been no higher than 25 mph in North Korea, according to official weather observations.
Chan-hom will likely dissipate quickly over the rugged terrain of North Korea on Monday.

Landfall in China... Barely

According to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), Chan-hom made landfall in Zhoushan city, Zhejiang Province at 4:40 p.m. local time Saturday (4:40 a.m. EDT Saturday in the U.S.). Zhoushan is along the coast just southeast of, and across Hangzhou Bay from, Shanghai.
This was the strongest landfalling storm to hit within 200 miles of Shanghai in at least 35 years, according to Weather Underground's Dr. Jeff Masters.
(BLOG: One of Shanghai's Strongest Typhoons on Record?)
Typhoon-force winds (74 mph or greater) began to reach the coast of China in the Zhejiang Province Saturday morning, local time. An observation station well south of Shanghai at Shipu reported sustained winds of 74 mph and a gust to 110 mph. Shanghai's Pudong International Airport saw a peak gust of 56 mph at 11 a.m. local time Saturday; winds have dropped considerably since then.

Enhanced Satellite, Winds: Chan-hom

The China Meteorological Administration raised a "red warning of typhoon" Friday morning for Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. Several other areas were placed under orange and yellow typhoon warnings, including areas as far north as Qingdao.
Xinhua News Agency said around 1.1 million people were evacuated from coastal areas. The country's railway service said more than 100 trains between the region's cities are canceled through Sunday and over 600 flights were canceled on Saturday.
(MORE: Latest News/Impacts)

Chan-hom Forecast Path

Chan-hom's large wind field and its recent intensity enabled it to generate storm surge along the East China seaboard, although it is not immediately clear how much sea-level rise occurred. That threat ended Sunday as winds began blowing offshore (from the west, generally) in the wake of Chan-hom.
(FORECAST: Shanghai)

Rainfall Reports

Torrential rainfall struck parts of coastal East China, with reports of over 300 millimeters (12 inches) of rainfall in some areas just south of Shanghai. Flooding was reported in a number of villages. Lai'ao Village in Sanmen County south of Shanghai, reported just under 16 inches of rain, according to reports from the CMA.
Heavy rainfall and gusty winds have also affected Taiwan. More than 16 inches of rain fell at one observation station in Jianshi Township, Hsinchu County, in the two days ending Saturday morning, local time.

Okinawa Impact

Okinawa Island was battered by the first spiral band outside of the typhoon's immediate core much of Thursday night. The Japan Meteorological Agency's observation site at Itokazu, near the southern end of Okinawa Island, clocked a peak gust of 111.6 mph at 1:05 a.m. Japanese time Friday. Minutes later it reported a sustained wind of 33.0 meters per second (73.8 mph), right at the minimum threshold for a typhoon.
Kadena Air Base on Okinawa clocked tropical storm-force sustained winds up to 59 mph Thursday afternoon into Thursday night. A peak gust of 78 mph occurred there around 3:20 a.m. Friday Japanese time.
Kitahara, on the island of Kumejima west of Okinawa, had a peak gust of 100 mph Friday.
(FORECAST: Kadena Air Base)
At least 27 people were injured by Chan-hom in Okinawa, according to Fuji TV. In addition, 30,800 customers were without power at one point in Okinawa Power territory.
Last Sunday, Chan-hom soaked Guam with up to 16 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, reported a peak wind gust to 62 mph Sunday afternoon. Guam International Airport just east of Hagatna, Guam, clocked a peak gust to 43 mph, while Rota Island measured a peak gust to 37 mph.
Meteorologists Chris Dolce and Linda Lam contributed to this report.

MORE: Super Typhoon Maysak Images (March-April 2015)