Typhoon Nangka Brings Torrential Rains to Japan

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Extreme rainfall is dousing much of Japan in the wake of Typhoon Nangka, which made landfall at 11:07 pm Thursday local time (10:07 am EDT Thursday) near Muroto City, on the south coast of the island of Shikoku. Nangka came ashore as a minimal typhoon, with sustained winds of just 75 mph. However, its shield of rich moisture is colliding with Japan’s mountains and a preexisting stationary front, making floods and mudslides the main hazard to contend with. At least two deaths have been reported from Nangka thus far. Radar-estimated rainfall rates are topping 3â€/hour in some locations, and a total of 521 millimeters (20.51â€) had fallen by late Thursday at the village of Kamikitayama, south of Osaka. Up to three feet of rain could fall in some locations, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Nangka’s trek over the Japanese mountains will leave it in a weakened state as it arcs northeastward as a tropical storm. A second landfall—perhaps as a weak tropical storm or depression--is possible in northern Japan on Sunday morning local time, as Nangka recurves sharply toward the east. This path will keep much of Japan in the southeastern quadrant of the storm, with rains pushing into the northern islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, although the amounts should decrease as Nangka weakens. “Sediment disaster alerts†for potential mudslides are in effect along the south coast of Japan, including the Tokyo region. For more on Nangka, including precipitation outlooks by region, see the detailed weather.com post by Nick Wiltgen and Jon Erdman. At the bottom of this post is an animated loop of Nangka’s approach to Japan as captured by Japan’s Himiwari-8 satellite.

 

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