Typhoon Nanmadol could be coming, but it's volatile

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Typhoon Nanmadol could be coming, but it's volatile

 A screenshot from earth.nullschool.net showing newly developed Typhoon Nanmadol, center, Typhoon Muifa, left, and Typhoon Merbok, right, as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. [NEWS1]

A screenshot from earth.nullschool.net showing newly developed Typhoon Nanmadol, center, Typhoon Muifa, left, and Typhoon Merbok, right, as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. [NEWS1]

 
Another typhoon may be approaching Korea, which is still recovering from the devastation of Typhoon Hinnamnor.

 
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Typhoon Nanmadol, which developed early Wednesday, was moving westward at a relatively slow speed of six kilometers per hour over waters 1,350 kilometers southeast of Okinawa, Japan, as of 3 p.m. The typhoon was named after a Micronesian site.
 
With central air pressure at 994 hectopascal, maximum wind speeds at 21 meters per second, and the typhoon's eye not yet visible, Nanmadol is not a fully formed typhoon. But forecasts expect it to grow into a “strong” typhoon on Friday after passing through high-temperature waters in a northward direction.
 
The state weather agency predicted Nanmadol will approach seas 210 kilometers northwest of Kagoshima, Japan, at 3 p.m. Friday, with its radius of maximum wind expected to reach 370 kilometers. This could affect Jeju Island.
 
Two typhoons that developed earlier, Mufia and Merbok, are continuing northward, causing an indirect or no influence on Korea.
 
Nanmadol is expected to approach the seas southeast of Jeju on Sept. 19. But due to the influence of Typhoon Mufia and the North Pacific anticyclone, its route is highly volatile. It could reach south of Jeju and turn toward China due to high pressure in the North Pacific.
 
“Typhoons are in the west and south of the Korean Peninsula and the North Pacific high pressure remains near Japan,” Jang Ik-sang, a forecaster at the KMA said. “With such a complex barometer, the typhoon's route is highly volatile.”
 
There is still the possibility of an additional autumn typhoons affecting the Korean Peninsula.
 
The water temperature in the western Pacific Ocean exceeds 28 degrees Celsius, suitable for the creation of typhoons, and high pressure in the North Pacific would help the typhoon move north.
 
"We are keeping a close eye on the situation as there is a possibility that additional autumn typhoons will affect the country,” a meteorology official said.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]
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