Lan a powerful storm, likely making landfall southwest of Tokyo Monday morning

Good morning from the Western Pacific Weather team.

On this Saturday morning, we are looking at a powerful Typhoon Lan. The storm is now Very Strong and is Very Large in scale. Satellite imagery provides a clearly defined view of the eye, and it is interacting well with the stationary front that is south of Honshu. We should see deteriorating conditions for the Okinawa Islands progressing through Saturday into Sunday.

It is becoming increasingly likely that Lan will make landfall southwest of Tokyo Monday morning local time. However, the wraparound moisture along with the forward momentum of the system will bring serious heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding along with powerful winds that could cause some damage from Nagoya eastward. Those between Kansai and Kanto regions should be preparing for the powerful system to really disrupt life in terms of public transportation overnight Sunday throughout the daytime hours on Monday.

Once Lan interacts with Japan Monday, the system will quickly depart and weaken into a post-cyclonic system, though it will still kick things up with rain and winds for those in northern Japan for several hours before completely leaving the scene.

Jonathan Oh
Meteorologist, Western Pacific Weather