Typhoon Neoguri: Okinawa, Japan in Path of Strongest Typhoon So Far in 2014
Published: 5 Jul, 2014, weather.com
Typhoon Could Threaten Air Force Base
Typhoon Neoguri, the second typhoon of the 2014 Western Pacific season, threatens to become an extremely dangerous cyclone as it churns toward Okinawa and potentially other parts of Japan and East Asia.
Western Pacific Satellite
The system became a typhoon -- the Western Pacific equivalent of a hurricane -- on Friday.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, in a bulletin issued late Friday U.S. time, upped its forecast wind speeds for Neoguri to the equivalent of a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale by the time the storm approaches Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands by Monday (U.S. time).
Neoguri may then go on to affect western parts of the Japanese mainland by Tuesday or Wednesday. However, according to JTWC maps, the cone of uncertainty stretches anywhere from Shanghai on the Chinese coast to Tokyo in eastern Japan by that time, and includes parts of North and South Korea.
Neoguri Forecast Track from Weather Underground
Neoguri rapidly intensified into a 130 mph Category 4 equivalent typhoon on Saturday and is the strongest tropical cyclone of the year in the Western Pacific basin. The season's first typhoon, Faxai, reached minimal typhoon status with 75-mph winds in early March. It did not affect land.
Check back as we track this potentially dangerous typhoon.