Shutterstock
There are two major systems brewing in the Pacific Ocean: Super Typhoon Lekima, and Typhoon Krosa. Lekima is expected to slam into Taiwan before heading straight for the China coast, while Krosa could hit Japan and spell a lot of flooding for the islands.
So much for a peaceful, easy hurricane season for the Pacific.
Lekima has spent all of its time over open waters but is expected to make landfall in Taiwan today, causing intense flooding and rain, as well as wind. Lekima has recorded gusts upwards of 119 MPH, which would put it roughly at a category 4 hurricane.
Meteorologists are hoping that it slows before slamming into China’s coast, but Taiwan is still expected to experience the brunt of the damage. Winds could be in excess of 135 PMH by the time Lekima hits land.
There are some elevation concerns for the areas as well, as heavy rainfall associated with typhoons often can lead to mudslides. Mudslides are hard to predict and extremely dangerous – residents often get very little warning before they happen. Upwards of 18 inches could fall in higher elevation areas due to Lekima.
Krosa is a younger typhoon, and it’s less likely that we can predict exactly where it ends up. The winds and sea it stirs up, however, are sure to impact where Lekima hits China, and how hard.
Krosa was originally spotted Tuesday just northwest of Guam, and it rapidly manifested into a tropical storm, getting its ‘typhoon’ ranking yesterday. Krosa is the third tropical storm to be classified as a typhoon in a week, which spells disaster for those near the Pacific Ocean.
Krosa is expected to reach a category 3 status as it moves into warmer, calmer waters. The warm water allows the typhoon to build and grow rapidly, feeding into the system instead of tearing it apart.
This typhoon could hit Japan as early as the beginning of next week, dumping inches of rain on the islands. Japan is especially vulnerable because you can’t simply move inland during typhoons – when you are on an island, where do you go?
Meteorologists are hopeful that the influence of Lekima could push Krosa northeast, instead of directly north. That would allow Krosa to simply skate past the cluster of islands instead of hitting it full force, sparing Japan a lot of water and damage.
It’s too early to say what these two storm forces will do, but it’s sure to be dangerous no matter where they land.
