Japan braces itself for another typhoon to end the week. Once a massive super typhoon - Vongfong heads north.
Last weekend Japan and F1 teams were watching Typhoon Phanfone’s progress towards the islands. This weekend it is Vongfong. This enormous storm has been taking up miles of the western Pacific as a Super Typhoon. Photos of its beautiful yet menacing shape and eye have filled social media.
This image comes from the NOAA/NASA website http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/
As a severe Category 5 equivalent storm there were sustained winds of 180mph (155kts), gusting to 220mph (190kts). Vongfong is the most powerful cyclone of 2014 and the most intense since Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the Phillipines in Nov 2013
Taiwan is far enough east of Vongfong to avoid a typhoon warning but the NE of the island does have heavy rain and strong winds warnings for the weekend including the capital Taipei. The islands off the far south of Japan, Okinawa and Amami are currently on storm alert as a weakening Vongfong passes very close by on Saturday. Sunday night into Monday, the typhoon is forecast to move NE across the main islands of Japan with sustained winds over 70mph (60kts) http://www.usno.navy.mil/JTWC/,
Side image from taiwan Central Met. agency
