Typhoon Dujuan Makes Landfall in China after Slamming Taiwan, Japan; Flooding Still a Concern (FORECAST)

Jon Erdman
Published: September 29,2015

Highlights

• Typhoon Dujuan made landfall in China Tuesday morning local time after ripping across Taiwan Monday afternoon and Monday night.
• Winds gusted as high as 153 mph (68.4 m/s) in Su'ao Township in northeast Taiwan. Wind gusts topped out at 92 mph (41.1 m/s) so far at Taiwan's main international airport near Taipei.
• A record-breaking wind gust of 181 mph (81.1 m/s) was reported on the southern Japanese Island of Yonagunijima, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
• Rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 feet (610 to 915 millimeters) have been reported in a number of mountain locations in Taiwan.
• Torrential rainfall from what's left of Dujuan may cause dangerous flooding and mudslides in parts of mainland China.

Dujuan Nears End of Journey

Enhanced Satellite

Typhoon Dujuan (pronounced DOO-JENN) made its first landfall in northern Taiwan near Nan'ao Township in Yilan County at 5:40 p.m. local time Monday (5:40 a.m. U.S. EDT), according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau. Dujuan was the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane at the time of landfall, according to the advisory issued by the U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) prior to landfall.
(FORECASTS: Taipei | Shanghai)
After crossing Taiwan's very rugged terrain, which caused the eye to jog toward the southwest briefly, Dujuan emerged from the island's west coast around 1 a.m. local time Tuesday (1 p.m. Monday U.S. EDT) according to the CWB, which said its maximum sustained winds were still estimated at 43 meters per second (about 95 mph) at that time.
(MORE: Latest News and Photos)
The China Meteorological Agency said Dujuan made what is likely its last landfall at 8:50 a.m. Tuesday China Standard Time (8:50 p.m. Monday U.S. EDT) in Putian, Fujian Province. Fujian has a population of more than 37 million people in an area the size of Mississippi – though with mountains as high as 7,000 feet (2,150 meters) in altitude, its terrain is much more rugged than that of the Magnolia State.
Dujuan was a minimal typhoon at the time of landfall, with maximum sustained winds estimated at 33 m/s (74 mph) by the CMA at the time of landfall. Dujuan was well inland over eastern China on Tuesday evening local time, but was still a tropical storm, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency.
(MORE: Stunning Images of Dujuan)
The Japanese Meteorological Agency issued its final advisory for Dujuan on Tuesday evening local time. However, its remnants could unleash enough rainfall to cause serious flooding in eastern China.
The city of Fuzhou on the China coast had seen 4.50 inches (114.5 mm) of rain as of 5 p.m. local time Tuesday. A wind gust to 65 mph was also reported at that location on Tuesday.

Rainfall Forecast

Eventually, the remnants of Dujuan may get picked up by a low pressure system moving across east Asia late in the week. This would take Dujuan's remnants on a path across the Korean Peninsula, mainland Japan, and parts of Russia's Far East.

Extreme Winds Confirmed in Japan and Taiwan

Typhoon Dujuan: Peak Wind Gusts

A wind gust to 81.1 meters per second (181 mph) was reported on the southern Japanese island of Yonagunijima, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency. If this wind gust is verified as accurate, it will go down as the fifth-highest official wind gust ever recorded in Japan. It is the highest wind gust reported in Japan's Ryukyu Island chain since a typhoon struck Miyakojima in 1966.
Typhoon-force winds were also reported late Monday morning on Hateruma, Japan's southernmost inhabited island, where sustained winds reached 90 mph. A peak gust of 57.5 m/s (128.6 mph) occurred there at 11:55 a.m. JST Monday (10:55 p.m. EDT Sunday).
Winds also gusted over 100 mph in Taiwan.
The highest reported gust there was in Su'ao Township where a top gust of 68.4 m/s (153 mph) was clocked early Monday evening, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau. This is near where the eye made landfall.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei had seen a top wind gust of 41.1 m/s (92 mph) as of 5:30 p.m., local time. Taipei's central business district clocked a peak gust of 36.0 m/s (81 mph) at 5 p.m. local time.

Taiwan and China: Another High-Impact Typhoon

Storm total rainfall amounts from Dujuan in China and Taiwan.

Dujuan's track has preferred the southern half of the forecast cone over the past day or two. That put its center on a track very very similar to that of Typhoon Soudelor, which struck in August and brought more than 50 inches (1,270 mm) of rain to parts of the main island of Taiwan.
The eye of Dujuan jogged southwest as it crossed Taiwan's mountains, a common phenomenon brought about by the topographical disruption to the typhoon's wind circulation.
Torrential rainfall has been reported across much of northern Taiwan and on the western side of the mountains in central and southern Taiwan, where very strong thunderstorms in Dujuan's southern semicircle were enhanced by westerly winds slamming into the higher elevations there.
In northern Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau reported 35.98 inches (914 mm) of rainfall on Taiping Mountain in Yilan County. Not far away, 28.19 inches (716 mm) fell at the Fushan observation site in Wulai District, New Taipei City – an area heavily damaged by flooding during Typhoon Soudelor.
Farther south, rainfall amounts of 300 to 400 millimeters (12 to 16 inches) were common on the western slopes of Taiwan's southern mountains. In central Taiwan, the Fenqihu observation site in Chiayi County logged an impressive 22.91 inches (582.0 mm) of rain as of late Tuesday morning local time.

MORE: Typhoon Soudelor, August 2015 (PHOTOS)