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Storm Halong continues to grapple with intense rain and winds in Japan, prompting emergency warnings and flood fears landslide As meteorologist Say its remnants could soon lead to an unusually heavy rain and snow system across California.
the storm has come JapanSpecial warning issued for Izu Islands on Thursday morning stormhigh waves and heavy Rain Throughout the island chain, including Hachijo and Aogashima, where residents have been urged to evacuate.
By noon local time, the storm was moving at a speed of about 30 km per hour with a central pressure of 950 hectopascals. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, maximum sustained winds near the center reached 162 km per hour, while maximum instantaneous wind speed was 234 km per hour.
from japan Season The agency issued a special heavy rain warning for the Izu island chain south of Tokyo.
Total rainfall in 24 hours could reach 300 mm, with gusts of more than 250 km per hour and winds gusting to about 180 km per hour, forecasters said.
Rainfall on Hachijo reached 207 mm in the three hours to 7 a.m. local time, the highest ever for the region, according to the agency.
The weather forced hundreds of residents in the area to seek shelter at evacuation centres.
Other islands in the chain, including Toshima, Niijima, Kozushima, Miyakejima and Mikurajima, are also expected to be hit by strong winds, raising fears of widespread power outages and transportation disruptions.
Local officials have warned about the possibility of landslides and “linear rainbands” – narrow corridors of intense rainfall that can rapidly worsen flooding.
Halong is expected to pass near Izu Island before turning east. Calm Late Thursday night, mainland Japan was spared a direct attack, but severe weather conditions were left in its wake.
The Japan Coast Guard has urged ships to stay away from the typhoon’s projected path, while flights and ferries to the islands have been suspended. Emergency teams remain ready to respond to power outages and blocked roads.
But as Japan prepares for the storm, the remnants of Typhoon Halong are forecast to merge with a weather system in the Pacific, causing the jet stream to intensify and a surge of moisture toward North America.
In California, it could turn into a storm that lasts several days, bringing heavy rain to coastal and inland areas, and early season snowfall in the Sierra Nevada.
Some models suggest bay area October may see the heaviest rainfall since last winter, with mountain snow reaching lower elevations than normal.
This type of cross-ocean weather link, known as “atmospheric teleconnection”, occurs when a western Pacific storm’s energy and moisture flow into the jet stream, amplifying downstream weather patterns thousands of kilometers away.
The storm will first move toward western Alaska, which is poised to impact later this week as the storm’s remnants are expected to move into the Bering Sea late Sunday into Monday.
The storm’s energy will strengthen the jet stream, fueling a high pressure system over Canada and sending subtropical air flowing toward Washington state, Oregon and California on Monday.
This cold air interacting with the coastal storm system could bring substantial rainfall to Northern California, especially around the Bay Area, and significant snowfall over the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Depending on the storm’s trajectory, the Bay Area could see its heaviest rainfall since last winter, while Lake Tahoe and the Sierras could see several feet of new snow.