Published: October 3,2016
Typhoon Chaba has hammered parts of Japan's Okinawa prefecture with wind gusts well over 100 mph, but has spared Kadena Air Base the worst of its fury.
(MORE: Hurricane Central)
Wind gusts up to 134 mph (59.7 meters per second) were clocked on the Japanese island of Kume as the eastern eyewall passed through late Monday night, local time.
Chaba intensified to a super typhoon Monday. The U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated maximum sustained winds had reached 145 knots, roughly 165 mph, the equivalent of a Category 5 tropical cyclone at that time.
As of Tuesday morning, local time, Chaba has weakened slightly to a Category 4 equivalent tropical cyclone with max sustained winds around 140 mph.
(LATEST NEWS: Closures/Evacuations Prompted in Okinawa)
The Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) estimated central pressure had cratered at roughly 905 millibars, a "violent" typhoon by their classification.
A final jog of the eyewall westward spared Okinawa Island, home of the U.S. Kadena Air Base, from the eyewall of this violent super typhoon. Winds gusted over 50 mph on Monday, there.
Current Storm Information, Infrared Satellite Image
Chaba is only the third Category 5 equivalent super typhoon to track within 65 nautical miles of Kume Island, in records dating to the 1960s, and is the strongest on record, there.
Forecast Path: Chaba
Chaba's center is now expected to spread heavy rain and high winds brushing southern South Korea, including the island of Jeju, into Japan's mainland, beginning Tuesday night into Wednesday, though it will be weakening and accelerating as it curls north, then northeast across Japan through Wednesday night.
Despite its acceleration, locally heavy rain may trigger flash flooding and landslides across parts of South Korea and mainland Japan.
Rainfall Outlook Through Thursday
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