Southern Japan, South Korea In Trouble As Intensifying Typhoon NORU Comes

AUGUST 2, 2017, WEDNESDAY

Though no longer a super typhoon, NORU is causing shivers in Japan and South Korea. It is moving in a northwesterly direction and will begin to affect Japanese territory only after 2-3 days. But the sea surface temperature near the coast of Japan being warm at 31 degrees centigrade, this will prove like a booster dose of vitamins to the storm.

It is likely to pass by the island of Amami Oshima as a category 4 hurricane with winds in excess of 200 km/h, gusts upto 250 km/h.

Most forecast models, including the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, agree that NORU will slice through the numerous Japanese islands, between Kyushu and Okinawa. Then it will curve and move between the Japanese island of Kyushu and the southeastern coast of South Korea into the Sea of Japan.

The problem is it is going to take 2-3 days starting August 5 to do so. So in these 3 days it is going to affect southern Japan badly. Worst hit will be Kyushu island.

Many cities on the South Korean coast too will be affected, including Busan. 

NORU is going to cause destruction with its strong winds, torrential rainfall and the rough high waves which the typhoon will whip up.

For folks in the Indian subcontinent, as long the west Pacific Ocean is hurling massive typhoons one after another, the Indian Ocean, especially the northern part, will remain subdued. So expect low monsoon activity in South Asia in the next few days. We have observed over the years that the west Pacific Ocean and northern Indian Ocean play a see-saw between them. When one is active, the other turns mild.

It is the western Pacific which is in active mode presently, with tropical cyclones NESAT, HAITANG and NORU (NORU ate up on other nearby storm called KULAP recently in the Fujiwhara Effect). Another one called NALGAE is brewing already and will sail past northern Japan in a few days.  Indian monsoon is in a subdued mode as a result.

Satellite image of typhoon NORU taken at 4:30 AM UTC, August 2, 2017.

The expected track of typhoon NORU according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency, JMA.

Track and intensity forecast of typhoon NORU by the JTWC.