Freight flows in and out of Japan may again be disrupted owing to the presence of ex-Typhoon Neoguri, located to the south east of Osaka, which is dumping huge amounts of rain onto a waterlogged Japan. Meanwhile, out in the far reaches of the Philippine Sea, near the Guam island group, Typhoon Bualoi is also lining up to threaten Japan.
Typhoon Neoguri – ground loosening heavy rain
Typhoon Neoguri formed on October 15 in the north east Philippine Sea. It moved north west, lining up on northern Taiwan, but promptly executed a twist to the north east and headed toward southern Japan.
By 09:50 universal time (about 05:20am U.S. Eastern Daylight Time) on October 2019, Neoguri had reduced intensity to a level of “Low” as rated by the Japan Meteorological Agency. It is moving north-north-east at a speed of about 18.6 miles per hour and is currently located offshore to the south-east of Japan between the cities of Nagoya and Tokyo.
Winds along that coast are reaching speeds of up to 53 mph, according to EarthNullSchool, which derives its data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among others.
Gale force wind warnings are in effect right along the southern and eastern coasts of the main Japanese islands of Shikoku, Honshu and Hokkaido. Wave heights in the region are reaching highs of up to 19 to 20 feet.
Weather bulletins are warning of gales, high waves, storm surges, and heavy rain, across the islands of Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu. On Honshu (the biggest of the main Japanese islands) the Japanese Meteorological Agency is also warning of floods and ground-loosening heavy rain.
Typhoon Bualoi – 40 foot waves
Meanwhile, out in the Philippine Sea, to the north of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Typhoon Bualoi (reportedly pronounced as byoo-AL-oy) has formed. The system has maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour and it is moving northwest, according to the U.S. National Weather Service at Guam.
The NWS says that Bualoi is moving northwest at 14 miles per hour and that it is expected to maintain course and speed for the next 24 hours. Bualoi may also intensify overnight.
EarthNullSchool is reporting maximum wave heights of about 12.3 meters (40 foot) and wind speeds of about 96 to 99 miles per hour near the center of the system.
The Japan Meteorological Agency is forecasting that, during the next three to four days, Bualoi will travel northwest toward Japan before veering off in a more northerly direction. It may then pass by the western coast of the island of Hokkaido and blow out in the northern Pacific Ocean.
However, typhoons are notoriously fickle and the direction of Bualoi may change at any time in the next few days.