Typhoon Hinnamnor to slam Okinawa islands through weekend
Powerful typhoon Hinnamnor is slowly moving toward Okinawa on Friday from its current location to the south of the Japanese prefecture, with stormy weather set to hit on the weekend.
The typhoon is forecast to approach the Sakishima Islands off the main island of Okinawa on Saturday evening, with the Japan Meteorological Agency warning of strong gusts and high waves for Japan’s southernmost prefecture.
It is expected to move north into the East China Sea from Sunday through Monday, and approach Kyushu in the country’s southwest on Tuesday.
The typhoon, the 11th of the season, is expected to pack winds of up to 234 kilometers per hour around the Sakishima Islands and 108 kph near Okinawa on Saturday. Conditions are expected to worsen on Sunday, with winds of up to 252 kph whipping the Sakishima Islands and up to 126 kph hitting the prefecture’s main landmass.
Heavy rain is also predicted from eastern to western Japan due to a stationary front, with the agency warning of landslides, flooding and rising rivers. There are also concerns about potential lightning strikes, strong winds and even tornadoes.
According to a forecast for the 24 hours through Saturday morning, 120 millimeters of rain is expected in the Tokai region and 80 mm in the Kinki region and Sakishima Islands.
In the following 24 hours, there is 200 to 300 mm of rainfall predicted across the Sakishima Islands, 100 to 150 mm in the Tokai region and Okinawa’s main island, and between 50 and 100 mm in the Kinki region.
The weather agency downgraded the typhoon to “very strong” from “violent” at 3 am Friday.
As of noon, Hinnamnor was located around 320 km south-southeast of Ishigaki Island. It had an atmospheric pressure of 935 hectopascals at its center and was packing winds of up to 234 kph.