Huge Khanun and Tiny Dora Continue Across the Pacific – Tropical Weather Bulletin – August 5, 2023
Khanun, after fighting for days with its enormous outer eyewall along with cameos of its inner eyewall appearing at times, is struggling a little more as it starts to drift eastwards, towards the Amami islands. The storm still contains winds just short of typhoon strength, and reintensification is possible after it passes the Amami islands and turns northwards towards Kyushu. The storm could stall again before this more substantial landfall, before eventually moving quicker towards the north. Khanun could even make landfall near the Russia/North Korea border, and may even still be tropical at this stage. Regardless of its progress, rainfall is expected to remain a major risk from Khanun, with values exceeding 500mm likely across parts of Kyushu and the northern Ryukyu islands, with 350mm of further rainfall possible on Okinawa, 400mm along the eastern coast of South Korea, and 250mm west of Vladivostok in Russia.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific, Hurricane Dora may also be struggling, with its eye fading from view at the present time. The tiny storm peaked as a Category 4 yesterday and is now down to high end Category 2 status, with winds near 110mph. The storm is expected to gradually weaken and keep moving almost due west, passing well south of Hawaii and then running up against a brick wall as it nears the International Date Line next week. Behind Dora, another tropical storm is expected fairly soon and is likely to pass safely south of Baja California Sur, although residents there should remain vigilant.
Two tropical cyclones are possible in the next week in the Western Pacific aside from Khanun, with a storm likely to develop to its east near the Ogasawara islands, and could pose a threat to eastern Japan and the Tokyo region. Another system could form to the west of Guam.
Get the full picture on the tropics by watching today’s Tropical Weather Bulletin using this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2el69z7lFE
