Typhoon Fitow near Okinawa Islands. Friday Evening Update

Fitow Sat

Typhoon Fitow is starting to make its job north west today vice the northerly progression the storm has been seeing for several days now.

What this means is that the forecast for the storm heading south of Okinawa Honto and closer to Miyako Jima has become a lot more confident today.

The eye of the storm is forecasted to pass just off the northern coast of Miyako-jima by Saturday evening and about 100km south of Okinawa Honto, home to Naha and Kadena Airbase.

High Wave warnings are in effect across the southern Japanese islands and Typhoon Warnings are in place from southern Okinawa Honto through Ishigaki-Jima.

Already high winds have been reported in Okinawa prefecture on Friday. In Miyagi-Jima a small island off the central portion of the main Okinawa Honto has reported winds gusting up to 82kph. Sustained winds around 60kph have also been reported in Miyako Jima well west of the storms location. This shows the true extent of the wind field and is why we continue to stress that even though the hear of the storm and the intense winds of the eye wall should remain off shore or at least south of Naha. There is still the threat of strong and potentially damaging winds through Saturday evening.

 

Waves Crashing Ashore in Miyako-Jima Friday

At this time I would not say to prepare for the storm of the century. But any plans on Saturday night should be cancelled and anyone on the southern Japanese islands should just ride this one out.

 Below is the Latest Video Update from Westpacwx. A new one will be posted around Midnight JST. 

Watch this video on YouTube.

As of writing this update Okinawa Military  has been put in TCCOR 2 with anticipated “destructive” winds of 50kts or greater expected in the next 24hrs. Given the forecast as of Wednesday Evening the worst of the weather would be over Okinawa by Saturday Evening.

 

For those located on the western edge of the Okinawa Honto sheltered by hill on the center and northern parts of the island do not be totally surprised if you see only tropical storm strength winds and heavy rains showers.

 

And of course always continue to check in with your local WMO approved weather agency. If all else fails and your not sure about the conditions in your area. Just don’t venture out.  Okinawa is built for storms and the building code on the island reflects that. More often than not the only injuries or deaths we hear about out of the island are when people ventured out in to the storm or put themselves in to a situation that was probably not the wisest idea.  So Stay Safe and Stay Smart!

 

Extreme weather Videographer James Reynolds is in Miyako-Jima today preparing to document the storm as it comes ashore. He will relay reports and video of the storm as it occurs. One thing to note he has done over 30 typhoon intercepts and is a professional at what he does. He will be taking all the proper safety precautions during the height of Fitow on the southern Japanese islands. You can follow him @Typhoonfury on twitter for updates.

Tweets by @typhoonfury
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Areas south of Shanghai are also monitoring this storm closely.  As of today a land falling Typhoon near Taizhou is very well likely by Sunday night. This area along the China Coastline is rugged dotted with inlets coves and islands. A storm surge will be a threat for

CMA TRACK

low lying coastal areas and coves where ships could possibly be taking shelter. Heavy rain will also be a threat as the storm tracks inland by Monday bringing the risk of severe flooding to areas south of Shanghai.

 As of Friday Evening Yellow Typhoon Warning is in place for areas south of Shanghai and northern Taiwan.

If Fitow was to track closer to the northern portions of Taiwan it could spell for the risk of flooding and landslides. At this time there is fair confidence in the track staying to the north.

This track is still subject to change, so most people should of course continue to monitor the storm through CMA and stay with us at Westpacwx for more information on the storms track as it develops.

Why has Okinawa not been hit by any typhoons yet this year. This video explains what happened this past summer to keep all the storms to the south. 

Watch this video on YouTube.

 

Source: www.westernpacificweather.com