March 29, 2024

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Pacific Ocean Super Typhoon Hinnamnor becomes the strongest storm of 2022

Pacific Ocean Super Typhoon Hinnamnor becomes the strongest storm of 2022

Suspension

The Atlantic may be wrapping up its calmest August in 25 years, but the most powerful tropical system of 2022 is spreading across the Pacific Northwest. Super Typhoon Hinnamnor, the equivalent of a Category 5 typhoon, is on its way to hit one or more islands of Japan.

The US Joint Hurricane Warning Center estimated the storm’s maximum sustained winds Tuesday afternoon ET at 160 mph, making it an extremely rare hurricane. Wind gusts of up to 190 mph are likely within the eyewall, the destructive wind ring around the storm’s calm center. The powerful storm was located 400 miles southeast of the Japanese island of Kyushu and was moving west at 19 miles per hour.

Hurricanes in the Pacific Northwest are no different from hurricanes in the Atlantic; They are just called different things. To become a “super hurricane,” the storm’s winds must reach at least 150 miles per hour.

Atlantic heating, with tropical storm formation expected this week

With the barrels of Hinnamnor facing west, Japan’s main body isn’t under any watches or warnings yet, but storm and high-wave warnings have been raised for the Daito Islands southeast of Okinawa, which has about 2,100 residents. The two small inhabited islands, Minamidojima And the KitadaitojimaIt is located 200 feet above sea level at its highest point and is made of limestone that was built over ancient coral reefs.

The center of the storm is expected to pass 93 miles south of Kadena Air Base in Okinawa at 7pm local time Wednesday, producing up to 5 to 6 inches of rain and winds of up to 69mph, the Guardian reports. . stars and stripes.

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It’s unclear how close the storm is to Japan’s most densely populated islands, as well as how the storm could eventually affect the weather in North America.

On Tuesday, Japan’s satellite Himawari-8 captured frightening views from above as the atmosphere crawled to the west. The storm was a fairly compact “annular cyclone”, characterized by a single intense beam of convection, or thunderstorm activity, surrounding the hollow eye. Most mature cyclones and tropical cyclones feature a swirl of curved storm lines and rain streaks that feed into the center. Annular cyclones have a narrower radius than maximum winds and are more uniform, which helps them maintain their ferocity.

On the periphery of the hurricane, high, thin and fragile clouds could be seen on the satellite radiating away from the center. This refers to outflow, or high-altitude exhaust as “spent” air expands away from the storm. The more processed air the storm has already evacuated from above, the lower the indoor air pressure will be. This means that the storm can, in turn, absorb more moisture-rich surface air when it comes into contact with the ocean. To nourish or intensify its strength.

Hinnamnor will likely maintain its power for another day or so before some humble knife may occur.

Regardless, it’s the most powerful storm circulating on Earth this year, and it could be a huge problem wherever it hits. In fact, it is still expected to be at least a Category 3 storm five days from now.

Hinnamnor appears to be bent slightly towards the south, pent-up by the high pressure to the north. This will likely maintain its position south of the island of Okinawa, but either way it is very close to comfort. The Japanese islands of Miyakojima, Tarama and Ishigaki appear to be at greater risk, with the closest pass likely sometime on Friday or Saturday.

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By then, it’s likely to falter a bit, and may have weakened to a Category 3 storm or a low-end Category 4 storm, but a severe impact can still be expected. Weather models diverge markedly in their simulations then, but they agree on the same basic premise: The approach of the low-pressure system to the northwest will help orient Hinnamor north.

Then the US model (GFS) suggests that Hinnamnor will move early next week to South Korea, which has withstood Catastrophic flooding only three weeks ago. The European model favors crossing the somewhat weaker Hinnamnor over southern Japan with typhoon-force winds and torrential rain.

Unfortunately, it looks like either scenario will continue to starve China of massive rains. The country was facing A deadly heat wave and a brutal drought This is wreaking havoc on agricultural production.

There is a remote possibility that eventual absorption of Hinnamnor into a low-pressure system at mid-latitudes in seven to 10 days could bend the jet stream enough to affect even North American weather in the next two to three weeks. Imagine throwing a stone into a gently flowing stream. That rock will affect the flow around it, causing ripples downstream. The peaks and troughs of these ripples are similar to high and low pressure regimes. Details of how such a chain reaction occurred are still not visible.

Hinnamnor’s tantrum comes amid an unusually calm tropical cyclone season in the northern hemisphere. To date, tropical storm activity in the hemisphere is only about 53 percent of average, with half the number of major hurricane strength systems projected.

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In the meantime, meteorologists as well Monitor the system carefully In the Atlantic, it’s likely to become Danielle and could roll in hurricane force next week. All indications are that it is heading out to sea and spare the US, although it may be something to watch for Bermuda.