Typhoon 18W (Jelawat), # 26: Kanto bases in TCCOR 1
Published: September 30, 2012
1:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30, Japan time: Jelawat has remained a strong Category 1-equivalent typhoon, packing 75-mph sustained winds and 92-mph gusts as it moves northeast like a rocket sled on rails at 30 mph toward landfall just west of Hamamatsu later this afternoon.
All U.S. Kanto Plain bases are now in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 1. Camp Fuji should see the worst of it, a near-direct hit at around 7 p.m. The remaining Kanto bases should be slightly southeast of Jelawat’s trajectory, but forecasts at Yokosuka Naval Base still call for 35- to 45-mph sustained winds and 60-mph gusts tonight into early Monday morning.
Even Misawa Air Base, 360 miles north of Tokyo, is taking preparations. An alert was posted on the base’s Facebook page calling for 50-mph gusts and at least 2 inches of rain starting at 8 p.m.
The good news is, Jelawat should be through the area rather rapidly and into the Pacific Ocean by morning.
Please say a prayer or three for our Okinawa brethren, who are still clawing out from the worst storm to hit the island in five years. Thousands remain without power, plenty of debris still being cleaned up, and those with power still face indoor puddles, cracked glass, broken or destroyed satellite dishes, the whole smash. This was ugly. Hope the island can get on its feet soon.
