Typhoon Nari makes historic landfall over Hokkaido, Japan

Typhoon Nari made landfall near Cape Erimo, at the southern tip of Hokkaido, around 02:00 local time (LT) on July 15, becoming the first typhoon to strike Japan’s northern main island since 2016.

The system moved northward after landfall and marked the first July typhoon landfall over Hokkaido since records began in 1951.

The system brought persistent rain and strong winds of over 80 km/h (50 mph) to parts of Hokkaido as it moved north, reaching the Sea of Okhotsk by 07:00 LT. It was downgraded to an extratropical storm by 09:00 LT.

Although the system has exited Japan, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has urged residents of Hokkaido to remain vigilant against storm winds, high waves, and heavy rain.

“Although the cyclone has moved away, a Pacific high-pressure system is expanding near Japan, causing a strong pressure gradient to develop to the east of the country,” said the JMA.

Up to 200 mm (8 inches) of rainfall is forecast in the Kanto-Koshin region through 18:00 LT on Tuesday, while over 80 mm (3 inches) is forecast for Tohoku Prefecture and up to 120 mm (5 inches) for Hokkaido Prefecture.

Strong winds are forecast to continue affecting parts of northern Japan, with gusts of over 105 km/h (65 mph) forecast for Hokkaido Prefecture through July 15.

Rough seas are also forecast for northern Japan on July 15. Waves of up to 6 m (20 feet) with swells are forecast in the Hokkaido region, while waves of up to 5 m (16 feet) are forecast for the Tohoku region.

Rishav Kothari

Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.

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