Typhoon “Lingling” heading toward North Korea, landfall expected September 7
Typhoon "Lingling," known as Liwayway in the Philippines, formed September 1 in the Western Pacific Ocean as the 14th named tropical storm of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season. The storm is now closing in on the Korean Peninsula with the landfall expected in North Korea around 08:00 UTC, September 7.
Lingling became a Category 1 typhoon on September 3. It then underwent rapid intensification due to super favorable conditions near the South China Sea, became a Category 2 and then a Category 4 hurricane equivalent on the Saffir–Simpson scale, as it was east of Taiwan. The eye became clear and wide as Lingling intensified even further.
The typhoon made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane equivalent on Miyakojima, Japan and then intensified to become the season's 3rd category 4 super typhoon according to the Saffir–Simpson scale, but soon weakened again to become a Category 3 storm.
Typhoon "Lingling" at 16:30 UTC on September 6, 2019. Credit: JMA/Himawari-8
At 12:00 UTC on September 6, the center of Typhoon "Lingling" about 320 km (200 miles) northwest of Kadena Air Base. Maximum 10-minute sustained winds were 155 km/h (100 mph), while maximum 1-minute sustained winds were 185 km/h (115 mph), with gusts up to 220 km/h (140 mph). The minimum central barometric pressure was 950 hPa and the system was moving northward at 33 km/h (21 mph).
Lingling's next landfall is expected in North Korea around 08:00 UTC on September 7 but the storm will weaken significantly before landfall due to high vertical wind shear and cooling sea surface temperatures.
Forecast models
Featured image: Typhoon "Lingling" at 08:50 UTC on September 6, 2019. Credit: JMA/Himawari-8
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