Maximum sustained winds had tailed off a bit, but were still an estimated 165 mph, solidly the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, according to the U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
With low vertical wind shear (change in wind speed and/or direction with height), impressive outflow (winds in the upper levels spreading apart from the center, favoring upward motion and thunderstorms) and warm western Pacific water, Vongfong intensified explosively.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Vongfong surpassed Genevieve for the most intense western Pacific typhoon of 2014 by estimated central pressure (900 millibars). On the JMA typhoon intensity scale, Vongfong is the third "violent typhoon" of 2014, following Genevieve and Halong.
"It's safe to say Vongfong was the strongest storm on earth since Haiyan last year," said Michael Lowry, storm specialist for The Weather Channel. Haiyan killed over 6,000 people when it slammed into the Philippines in November 2013 with maximum sustained winds estimated at 195 mph by JTWC.............http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/typhoon-vongfong-japan-threat-20141006
8/10/14
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ReplyDeleteA supertyphoon on course to hit Japan over the weekend is as powerful as the deadly storm that ripped through the Philippines in 2013 killing thousands of people, meteorologists said Wednesday
The monstrous storm, named Vongfong, was picking up speed as it churned through the far west of the Pacific Ocean.
“Its strength is very much similar to Haiyan,” which ravaged the Philippines in November, said a meteorologist at the Meteorological Agency.
Haiyan left nearly 8,000 people dead or missing when gusts of around 300 kph (190 mph) tore through the country, generating giant waves that swamped coastal communities.
Vongfong was registering gusts of the same strength, according to the Japanese agency.
Satellite images of Supertyphoon Vongfong show a perfectly formed eye in the middle of a gigantic swirling disc of cloud that appears to be sucking up weather systems from across the Tropics...............http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/10/09/national/vongfong-supertyphoon-rivaling-haiyan-roaring-toward-japan/#.VDZp6FfQqt8
9/10/4