Meanwhile...on the other side of the world

[PurdueWx80]

we have an unprecendented scenario unfolding. Supertyphoon Ma-on (Cat 5, 160 mph) is heading directly for Japan, and is forecast to be a Cat 3 just west of Tokyo over the weekend. The storm has been intensifying rapidly, much more so than expected by the JTWC. This is horrible news for a country already battered by many storms this year. If the storm intensity and track verifies, it could be the worst storm of the year for them.

http://www.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc.html

http://www.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc/satshots/wp2604sair.jpg

[hiflyer]

whoa!! let alone storms Honshu been getting nailed with earthquakes as well....but a Cat3 off Tokoyo is not good news ouch@!

[vbhoutex]

The track of the typhoon, super or not is a major problem for an already totally saturated country that has been hit by 8 tropical cyclones!!!

[WeatherEmperor]

Oh boy I feel so sorry for Japan right now.

<RICKY>

[Stormcenter]

we have an unprecendented scenario unfolding. Supertyphoon Ma-on (Cat 5, 160 mph) is heading directly for Japan, and is forecast to be a Cat 3 just west of Tokyo over the weekend. The storm has been intensifying rapidly, much more so than expected by the JTWC. This is horrible news for a country already battered by many storms this year. If the storm intensity and track verifies, it could be the worst storm of the year for them.

http://www.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc.html

http://www.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc/satshots/wp2604sair.jpg

And here I thought that Florida residents were the only ones
having a VERY BAD hurricane season.

[Derek Ortt]

JMA has this as a marginal 3 and the winds at landfall of 80KT.

JMA does have a 10 minute sustained wind, though this differences does not account for all of the differences between JTWC and JMA. JTWC <b>ALWAYS</b> over reports the intensity these days. Cat 1 or 2 at most for Japan is the most likely as the JMA is predicting

[Hyperstorm]

The storm is not a category 5 according to satellite images. The eye has collapsed and it looks more like a borderline 3/4 storm. I've never heard of a category 3 impacting Tokyo directly and don't count on it this time.

Category 1 sounds about right...

[HURAKAN]

I think they should never take off their hurricanes shutters.

[Scorpion]

They're used to it... its typhoon country. They get hit every year. Big deal. Their houses are earthquake proof, so they are hurricane proof as well.

[AussieMark]

some structures are more prone to Earthquakes than Hurricanes.

Concrete structures are good for Hurricanes/Typhhons

but very poor for Earthquakes.

[Aslkahuna]

An 80kt 10 minute wind is roughly 17% lower than a 1 minute wind so an 80kt 10 minute wind is equal to about 94kt 1-minute or 108 mph-high end Cat 2. HOWEVER, it's important to realize that the Saffir-Simpson scale is not applicable in Japan and most Countries over there. They have their own scales. About Japanese construction, as the Kobe earthquake in 1995 showed, the older structures in Japan are far from earthquake proof and one would presume that the same goes for typhoons as well. Actually, winds are most often not the problem with typhoons over there and in other Asian Countries. Japan is very mountainous (as is Taiwan and the Philippines) and typhoons when they hit that terrain can unleash tremendous amounts of rain in a short period of time causing massive flooding and landslides which are the real killers there. One last comment, the term earthquake proof is a misnomer, buildings are designed to be earthquake resistant.

Steve

[tronbunny]

i know for sure..my house would be a horrible mess were it subject to a 5/6 Earthquake followed by a 1/2 hurricane!

[Aslkahuna]

Actually, steel framed or reinforced concrete structures properly tied into the foundation and with few openings in the walls work very well in earthquakes as well as hurricanes. It's the poorly designed concrete structures (and masonry ones) with soft lower floors and poor foundation connections that fail big time in earthquakes along with poorly reinforced concrete block structures. In addition, foundations on high rises MUST extend to the bedrock lest soil liquefaction or slumping bring down an ohterwise well designed building-this was in a large part the reason for building collapses in Mexico City in 1985 when the frequency of shock waves in the unstable soil equalled the resonant frequency of certain buildings. Brick and adobe structures (which abound in the seismically active West) have no business being built in earthquake country.

[PurdueWx80]

Meet Ma-on:

[Stormsfury]

They're used to it... its typhoon country. They get hit every year. Big deal. Their houses are earthquake proof, so they are hurricane proof as well.

Buildings being earthquake or typhoon proof is a myth ... resiliant is a more applicable term here, since structures in Florida during Andrew were supposed to be hurricane proof ... same was claimed from the Corp of Engineers before the Great Flood of 1993, and also just before the 1977 Johnston Flood ...

SF

[Innotech]

the great and wonderful land of anime is under attack.
(yes I like anime laugh if you like)

[Aslkahuna]

Actually, the 2100Z Advisory from JTWC has Ma-on at 85kt intensity two hours before landfall so the landfalling intensity would be on the order of
75-80kt or Cat 1 given the rapidity at which the storm is losing intensity as it is rapidly transitioning into an ET system with the storm expected to be fully ET by 24 hours from 1800Z today. It is not common to get a fully Tropical system into the Home Islands of Japan in October as the mean position of the Polar Front and hence the westerlies are generally south of there. The Okinawa Prefecture is still at risk yet.

Steve

[HurricaneBill]

The last major typhoon to make landfall on the main island of Japan was Typhoon Bart in 1999. Bart struck as a Category 3.

The last typhoon to strike mainland Japan as a Category 4 was Typhoon Violet in 1996.

Only 1 typhoon has ever hit mainland Japan as a Category 5. This was the catastrophic Super Typhoon Vera in 1959.

[dougjp]

...and Formula 1 is in Suzuka, their big ferris wheel and lots of signs are up....

[Aslkahuna]

Actually, Typhoon Megi hit the ROK in August made landfall near Pusan.

Steve