Another Tropical Cyclone Heading to Already Battered Japan! (credit: Weather Underground)

Japan has been hammered early this week with rain, flooding, and damage from strong winds as a result of passing Typhoons Mindulle and Kompasu, and more is on the way! Currently in the Northwest Pacific near the East China Sea and Taiwan, Typhoon Lionrock is moving southwest at a slow pace toward the Philippines. Weather models have this typhoon, with winds that are characteristic of a Category 3 hurricane, turning around and tracking northeast away from the Philippines before taking a westward turn toward Japan early next week. Timing is uncertain for this shift in direction (i.e., from northeast to northwest) but models are generally agreeing on the initial northeast direction. The image below depicts this forecast, with the bubbles representing where the center of the storm may be. Though the tropical cyclone is currently strong and at typhoon status, conditions are favorable for weakening Lionrock to a Tropical Storm due to increasing vertical wind shear and cooler sea surface temperatures. However, with the size of the storm and its’ impacting wind field, caution should be exercised by everyone by preparing for potentially heavy rain, strong and damaging winds, and more flooding. To learn more about other tropical cyclone events, click here!