Hurricane Hinnamnor, Northern Hemisphere strongest tropical cyclone of the year, brought heavy winds and rain to the islands of southern Japan on Thursday, a day before it was forecast to start heading north to the Korean Peninsula.
Hinnamnor was about 300 miles southeast of Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, when it struck the main island in the Japanese archipelago of Okinawa on Thursday morning. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, it produces sustained winds of 123 mph and gusts of up to 167 mph.
In the city of Nanjo on Okinawa’s main island, gusts were less intense – up to about 57 mph on Wednesday night. But winds are expected to strengthen there and on nearby islands late Thursday, said Japanese public broadcaster NHK. report. Officials warn of rough seas and potential high tides.
The terms hurricane, hurricane, and tornado all refer to tropical storm; term applied to a certain storm depends on where it originates. Typhoons develop in the Pacific Northwest and often affect Asia. Hurricanes form in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, or the Gulf of Mexico.
In the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane – Category 3, 4, and 5 hurricanes – defined as tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds of 111 mph or higher.
Forecasts on Thursday suggested that Hinnamnor, which formed in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, will most likely dogleg is right on Friday, avoid Taiwan and the southern coast of mainland China, and head north towards the southernmost tip of the Korean Peninsula.
On Thursday morning, the Korea Meteorological Administration classified the storm as “Super strong“- its highest designation for tropical cyclones, reserved for those with winds of 120 mph or more.
As Hinnamnor heads north, the agency’s forecast said, it will likely drop some intensity but remain “very strong,” carrying winds of 98 to 118 mph by the time it made landfall. to the south coast of South Korea, possibly on Tuesday.
The link between tropical storms and climate change is become clearer. While warming may not lead to as many hurricanes, researchers have found that it has increased the frequency of major storms because a warmer ocean provides more energy. rather than powering them.
Hinnamnor formed in the Pacific Ocean at the end of a August is unusually quiet because of the storm in the Atlantic Ocean. But on Wednesday, meteorologists were monitoring three waves of disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean that they say are likely to develop into a tropical depression.
Hikari Hida contribution report.
