Elsewhere in Weather News: September 29, 2012

Typhoon Jelawat Forecast to Weaken Before Impacting Japan

Typhoon Jelawat remains at very strong intensity despite weakening from its previous status as a super typhoon. Earlier this week Jelawat had maximum sustained winds of 220km/h near its centre, which would classify it as a category four hurricane by north american standards. The storm currently has maximum sustained winds of 145km/h (as of Friday afternoon), the equivalent of a category two hurricane.

Satellite image of Jelawat on Thursday morning when it was heading toward Taiwan with 155mph sustained winds

Satellite image of Jelawat on Thursday morning when it was heading toward Taiwan with 155mph sustained winds. (JMA/NOAA) – via Washington Post (see sources)

Jelawat is presently located near Okinawa and is moving in a north-easterly direction toward Japan, weakening the further north it moves. According to the Japanese Meterological Agency Jelawat will impact the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, today before moving toward the Japanese mainland late today into Sunday.

Jelawat's Forecast track by the JMA

Jelawat’s Forecast track by the JMA

Thus far Jelawat has not caused any devastating damage, owing to the fact that it has not yet impacted any large land masses. Some damage was reported on Lanyu (Orchid Island), located just off Taiwan’s south-eastern coast. No casualties have been reported on Lanyu, but the harbor, gas station, and supermarket were reportedly destroyed. There may be more damage as this typhoon moves over the more heavily populated Ryukyu Islands this weekend.

Sources: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2012/09/29/2003543923, http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/tc_gis_e.htm, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/typhoon-jelawat-closing-in-on-okinawa-japan-nadine-becomes-hurricane-again/2012/09/28/c0f6844c-097b-11e2-a10c-fa5a255a9258_blog.html

Matthieu

Matt has been a member of the AWM team since January 2012, writing the weekly feature Elsewhere in Weather News which highlights weather news from across the globe. Matt has lived in Winnipeg all his life and has been a weather enthusiast since a very young age. He is currently completing his B.Sc. in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Manitoba.

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