Tropical Storm Noru Lashing Central Japan With Heavy Rain and Strong Winds; More Than Two Feet Of Rain Reported

Jon Erdman, Brian Donegan and Chris Dolce
Published: August 7,2017



 
Typhoon Noru made its final landfall Monday in central Japan, and, while now a tropical storm, continues to bring pockets of heavy rain, keeping the threat of flash flooding and landslides high.
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Noru was equivalent in strength to a Category 1 hurricane as its center crossed land over Wakayama Prefecture, south of Osaka, about 1 a.m. EDT or 3 p.m. local time Monday.

Current Storm Status

Noru is expected to continue to weaken as it moves toward the east-northeast over Honshu through Tuesday, before drifting offshore Wednesday.

Noru Path History and Forecast Path

Despite this weakening, heavy rain will continue to be a significant hazard in Honshu. That heavy rainfall may trigger dangerous flash flooding, and the threat for landslides in parts of Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu may persist for several days after Noru departs.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued warnings and advisories in much of Japan for various impacts including heavy rain, flooding, landslides and high surf.

Additional Forecast Rainfall Through Tuesday

As of Monday afternoon, local time, more than 25 inches of rain fell in 72 hours in Naze, Japan, on Amami Oshima. In eastern Shikoku, the town of Tokushima measured over 13 inches of rain in just 24 hours through Monday afternoon.
A wind gust of 89 mph was recorded at Cape Muroto, on Shikoku, with sustained winds near 79 mph.
Noru has been a tropical cyclone for over two weeks since first becoming a tropical depression on July 20. Here's a recap of what's happened so far.

Noru's Rapid Intensification

Noru strengthened from a tropical storm with estimated 70-mph winds (60 knots) to a Category 5 super typhoon with estimated 160-mph winds (140 knots) in just 18 hours from 8 p.m. EDT July 29 to 2 p.m. EDT July 30, according to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
It's stint as a Category 5 equivalent didn't last long as Noru weakened on Monday, July 31.
(MORE: Stunning Images of Noru)

Fujiwhara Effect

Prior to the rapid intensification, Noru teamed up with another tropical cyclone named Kulap in a meteorological dance called the Fujiwhara effect.
Named after a Japanese researcher who discovered this in experiments with water in the early 1920s, the Fujiwhara effect details how two tropical cyclones less than 900 miles apart rotate counter-clockwise about one another.
Think of the teacup ride at Disney or the Tilt-a-Whirl at your local county fair, but with tropical systems instead. In the teacup ride, adjacent teacups can not only spin, but revolve about each other.
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While Kulap had degenerated to a remnant, one could still pick out its leftover circulation in Himawari-8 visible satellite imagery July 27 south-southwest of Noru.

Typhoon Noru and the remnant of former Tropical Storm Kulap are shown in this visible satellite image from the Himawari-8 satellite on July 27, 2017.
(Japan Meteorological Agency)

Thanks in part to the Fujiwhara interaction, Noru crossed its path from the previous week completing an oval-shaped loop.
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