Typhoon Shanshan Intensifies as It Approaches Southwestern Japan

Typhoon Shanshan Approaches Southwestern Japan

Typhoon Shanshan is intensifying as it makes its way toward southwestern Japan, bringing with it a deluge of rain and powerful winds. The storm has already led to the cancellation of several flights and has disrupted the operations of the country’s high-speed rail network.

Early Tuesday, the typhoon was reported to have sustained wind gusts reaching up to 120 miles per hour, categorizing it as equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane, according to the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center. As it approaches the Amami Islands, a group of islands located southwest of Japan’s mainland, the storm is predicted to unleash up to 16 inches of rain on these areas.

In the coming days, parts of western Japan may face nearly two feet of rain in just a 24-hour period, raising alarms for possible floods and landslides, as warned by the Japanese Meteorological Agency. The trajectory of the typhoon remains uncertain; however, forecasts suggest it will continue moving westward through Tuesday and Wednesday before veering north on Thursday, potentially impacting Kyushu, one of Japan’s main islands.

Due to the slow movement of the typhoon, the Amami region and western Japan are set to endure prolonged periods of severe weather characterized by violent and strong winds accompanied by heavy rainfall. Winds are expected to reach up to 90 miles per hour in southern Kyushu and the Amami region starting Tuesday, possibly escalating to 110 miles per hour by Wednesday.

In response to the approaching storm, Japan Airlines has announced the cancellation of several flights scheduled for Wednesday, particularly those arriving and departing from central Japan, including Osaka Kansai Airport, one of the largest airports in the country. Similarly, All Nippon Airways, Japan’s largest airline, has indicated that the storm will likely impact some of its flights operating out of Osaka.

The nation’s high-speed rail network, known as Shinkansen, has also begun to cancel services starting Tuesday, with warnings that these cancellations could persist until the weekend.

This season’s typhoon activity in the Pacific Ocean has been below average, partly due to the La Niña weather pattern expected to influence conditions later in the summer, as reported by the National Weather Service. La Niña, characterized by cooler sea surface temperatures in the equatorial region, typically leads to an increase in wind shear—variations in wind speed and direction—which hinders the formation of storms.

From May to July, the region has experienced three tropical storms, two typhoons, and one major typhoon. Comparatively, the average number of storms for the same period between 1991 and 2020 is approximately eight tropical storms, four typhoons, and two major typhoons.