Tropical Storm Nanmadol to batter Japan with wind, rain through midweek
As heavy rains taper off in northern Japan early this week, a tropical cyclone will threaten southern Japan with drenching rain and strong winds through Wednesday.
Tropical Cyclone Nanmadol will continue to track over southern and central Japan this week, bringing flooding rain and gusty winds. Drenching rain could result in flooding and mudslides, mainly in western Japan.
Luckily, the heavy tropical rainfall will only skirt southern South Korea, where recent monsoonal rains proved fatal and destructive.
The system made landfall on Japan’s southernmost island, Kyushu, early morning local time on July 4.
Before the mountainous terrain has a chance to disrupt Nanmadol’s winds, Kyushu can expect to experience the strongest winds.
“Wind damage will be the most likely in western and southern Kyushu, as well as the south coast of Shikoku and Wakayama Prefecture in southern Honshu,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Douty.
“The hardest-hit parts of Kyushu, near the point of landfall, will get wind gusts of 95-130 km/h (60-80 mph).”
A weather station in Muroto, on the southern shore of Shikoku, reported a wind gust of 162 km/h (100 mph) just before 3:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
The storm has already injured three people in storm-related accidents, according to AFP. At least 47 domestic flights were canceled ahead of the storm.
These strong winds will threaten to disrupt travel and topple trees, potentially causing widespread power outages.
The system will track east-northeastward as it weakens over the coming days, dumping rain and bringing disruptive wind to the islands of Shikoku and Honshu before exiting into the Pacific near Tokyo on July 6.
“Nanmadol is a small and relatively fast-moving storm, so significant impacts should not last for more than six to eight hours at any given location along the track,” said Douty.
As the center of the storm tracks through Japan, rounds of deluges will increase the chance of mudslides and flooding as gusty winds continue to cause sporadic damage.
“Rainfall should not cause extensive flooding; locally 75-150 mm (3-6 inches) of rain can lead to isolated flooding,” Douty said.
According to NHK World (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), 450 mm (18 inches) of rain has fallen in Hakuba Village in the mountains of western Shikoku since Friday.
Residents should stay up-to-date on the latest warnings from the Japanese Meteorological Agency for flooding and mudslides and be careful to avoid driving through flooded roadways or traveling during the storm at all.
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