Typhoon Prapiroon to unleash flooding, strong winds on southern Japan, Korean Peninsula
Typhoon Prapiroon will bring potentially flooding rain and strong wind to southern Japan and South Korea during the beginning of the week.
On Monday morning, local time, Parapiroon strengthened from a severe tropical storm to a cyclone as it approached South Korea.
Prapiroon passed just to the south and west of Okinawa on Sunday evening, local time, bringing wind gusts to 96 km/h (60 mph).
After leaving the Ryukyu Islands, Prapiroon set its sights on the Korean Peninsula and southern Japan on Tuesday.
These rounds of rain, in addition to impacts from Prapiroon, will set the stage for flooding and an elevated risk for mudslides.
Heavy rain fell across parts of South Korea prior to the arrival of Prapiroon.
On Monday, areas in and around Seoul picked up 68 mm (2.6 inches) of rain. In Chongju in central South Korea, nearly 100 mm (4 inches) of rain fell.
Moisture from Prapiroon is being pulled northward into the frontal boundary sitting across the Korean Peninsula, further enhancing the ongoing rainfall.
The worst impacts from the storm in South Korea and southern Japan were felt on Tuesday as the tropical cyclone tracks near the southern coast of mainland South Korea and just to the north of Kyushu.
While Prapiroon is a weak typhoon, it is expected to continue to weaken as it moves through the Sea of Japan.
As a result, the southern coast of South Korea and western Kyushu will endure the strongest winds with six to 12 hours of tropical-storm-force winds expected through Tuesday. This will result in power outages and tree damage as well as continued flooding and travel disruptions.
Due to Prapiroon’s weakening, the risk for any widespread damaging winds elsewhere across the Korean Peninsula and southern Japan will be low.
“Conditions will improve across South Korea and southern Japan on Tuesday evening, but scattered downpours may continue to threaten flooding,” said Douty.
Despite Prapiroon leaving, additional rounds of rain and thunderstorms are expected during the second half of the week across Japan as another frontal boundary stalls across the region, continuing the threat for localized flooding. Heavy rain can soak communities in Kyushu, Shikoku and southern Honshu.
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