The Pacific Ocean has seen a major tropical storm develop with Jebi threatening to make landfall just one week after Hawaii’s hurricane Lane.
Hurricane Lane managed to cause significant flooding on the Hawaiian Islands, drenching the territory with more than 50 inches (1,000mm) of rain.
It seems like Lane is already being trumped, as Jebi accelerated into the world’s most powerful storm this year as a category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, boasting extreme winds of over 175mph.
Currently, Jebi’s winds are hitting 155mph, dipping slightly from its peak.
Will Super Typhoon Jebi hit Japan?
The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre has stated the extreme winds emanating from hurricane Jebi will make landfall on Japan some time next week.
Jebi is set to take a recurving path, meaning rather than a straight-laced track for the coast, it will wheel around.
This will take the whirling mass of wind and rain straight into the coast of Japan by Tuesday.
Official projections have Jebi making landfall by Tuesday local time, near Tokushima and Wakayama prefectures.
Making a northward movement, the typhoon is set to touch down after a period of weakening.
When it makes landfall, the typhoon is going to survive as a category 2 or 3 storm.
Despite the downgrade, if Jebi was to touch down with a strength like this Japan will see extreme winds ranging from 96-129 mph.
Osaka and Kyoto are potentially in for the most damage, as the two major Japanese cities could be placed within the storm’s centre.
This is where the most severe winds are likely to occur, and they are forecast to extend even into the Tokyo region if Jebi angles northeast.
The result of sustained winds with an impact like this would be extremely dangerous, as even well-built homes would suffer major damage, and trees would be uprooted and cast into roads.
Expectations of the hurricane also set it on a path to collide with Japan’s island of Honshu, the largest and most populous.
Each area under the influence of the oncoming typhoon will see extreme sustained rainfall, with torrential rains releasing as much as 5–10 inches, and localised totals pushing 20 inches.
This is expected mostly for Honshu, but Tokyo may also receive the brunt.
Japan has been in the grips of a major typhoon season this year, as a total of seven typhoons have graced the coast of Japan since July.
Factoring any weaker tropical depressions and storms, 12 cyclones have managed to effect the country.