Typhoon “Lan” pre-landfall update by meteorologist Jonathan Oh
Image credit: Jonathan Oh, Western Pacific Weather
Typhoon "Lan" is still very large and very strong typhoon located 695 km (430 miles) SW of Tokyo as of 09:45 UTC, Sunday, October 22, 2017, but is weakening. Warnings and advisories are now in place for almost the entire country. The storm is expected to make landfall sometime after 18:00 UTC today (03:00 JST, October 23).
At 09:35 UTC today, Lan had the minimum central pressure of 945 hPa, maximum wind speed near the center of 157 km/h (98 mph) and gusts to 222 km/h (138 mph), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Lan's maximum sustained wind speed at 09:00 UTC was 213 km/h (132 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, making it a Category 4 hurricane equivalent on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Typhoon "Lan" forecast track by JMA at 10:00 UTC on October 22, 2017
"The storm is slated to make landfall sometime after 03:00 Monday morning, Japan time. By that point, it is expected to be weaker as a strong typhoon, but nevertheless, it will provide significant rainfall that can lead to flooding along with strong winds that could hit 93 km/h (58 mph) or more as the system comes on shore," meteorologist Jonathan Oh warns.
"Plenty of raining has been falling all throughout Japan, including Tokyo. The capital has seen 108 mm (4.25 inches) of precipitation since midnight, and the rainfall will only become progressively worse overnight."
See the rest of his latest update released Sunday evening (JST), October 22, 2017:
Video courtesy Jonathan Oh (Western Pacific Weather – WestPacWX)
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules.