A Violent 'Super Typhoon' Is Due To Hit Japan And South Korea This Weekend ("Sanba")

A violent super typhoon in the North Indian Ocean, named "Sanba" has begun to pick up steam and could start to affect residents of Japan and South Korea as early as Saturday morning.

Winds have climbed up to 178 mph, which would make it the equivalent of powerful category 5 Hurricane, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Sanba is currently being tracked traveling north, and if it continues onwards, it could be headed on a collision course with Okinawa, Japan.

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Eric Wanenchak said "it will be a life-threatening situation for the Ryukyu Islands of Japan with winds in excess of 100 mph. The worst case scenario for Okinawa is winds of 120-140 mph."

Only one typhoon in the past 10 years has had a lower pressure drop than Sanba, according to AccuWeather.

Good news...

Tropical Storm 17W (Sanba), # 27: Area IV all clear; Okinawa by the numbers

By Dave Ornauer
Published: September 17, 2012

4:45 p.m., Monday, Sept. 17, Korea time: Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued its final warning for now-downgraded Tropical Storm Sanba at 6 p.m. Officials in Area IV have said they are resetting everything. Roads now are open and the all-clear was sounded at 5 p.m.

By the numbers for Okinawa and Daegu:

-- 48,700 homes lost power through the storm's peak, 6 a.m. Sunday, when peak 69-mph sustained winds and 123-mph gusts occurred. Not as bad as PST advertised last week, but still quite trifling.
-- All told, 7 inches of rain fell on Okinawa, 18th Wing Weather Flight officials said.
-- All-Nippon Airways lost 56 flights affecting 9,500 passengers. Japan Air Lines had 34 flights canceled, stranding 8,520 passengers. Japan Transocean Air had 76 flights by the boards, with 8,157 passengers affected. Sky Mark lost 53 flights, delaying 6,800 passengers. Solaseed Air lost 10 flights, with 1,700 passengers affected.
-- Two were slightly injured in the Nago-Ginoza area near Camp Schwab. More than 370 homes were flooded, most in the north part of the island, according to Okinawa's crisis management office.
-- Okuma Recreation Area will not open nor accept reservations until Thursday due to typhoon damage.
-- Public affairs officials said 7 inches of rain fell in Daegu-Area IV.

Pacific Storm Tracker signing off ... for now.

Excerpt: Typhoons, hurricanes and tropical cyclones are three different region specific names for the same kind of storm system. In short, they are one and the same phenomenon, although varying in intensity according to the place of origin and conditions.

So, a tropical cyclone a.k.a. typhoon, a.k.a. Hurricane is a peculiar storm system, which has a warm low pressure center, with an army of thunderstorms around it. They have their origin near the equator, around 10 degrees away from it, in the sea. End Excerpt.

I think the hurricane rotates counterclockwise and is in the northern hemisphere and a typhoon rotates clockwise and is in the southern hemisphere. Not sure about cyclones.

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