Tropical Storm Danas to unleash heavy rain on Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands before targeting South Korea, Japan

By Eric Leister, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

After drenching the Philippines and Taiwan with heavy rainfall, Tropical Storm Danas is now tracking northward toward Japan's Ryukyu Islands.

A tropical depression formed in the Philippine Sea on Monday morning and quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Danas east of Luzon by Monday night. In the Philippines, the storm is known locally as Falcon.

Flooding was reported across the Philippines with widespread rainfall of 75-150 mm (3-6 inches) across northern and western Luzon. Manila was spared the worst of the storm's impacts with 25-75 mm (1-3 inches) of rainfall across the city.

Occasional rainfall will dampen northern and western Luzon into Friday; however, the heaviest rainfall has ended across the region.

Taiwan will avoid the heaviest rainfall from Danas as torrential rainfall spreads north and east of the storm's track into the Ryukyu Islands into the day on Friday.

Satellite image of Tropical Storm Danas near Taiwan on Thursday afternoon, local time. (RAMMB)

Rain spreading northward ahead of Danas will drench Kyushu, southern Shikoku and southwestern Honshu on Friday, bringing the risk of flash flooding and mudslides to million of people.

RELATED: 
Philippines Weather Center 
Taiwan Weather Center 
Interactive West Pacific weather satellite

Downpours will also raise the risk for localized flooding and travel delays across southern South Korea beginning on Friday and continuing into Saturday as Danas approaches from the south.

Danas is expected to slow its progression this weekend, bringing a prolonged risk for flooding to South Korea and Japan.

The exact track of Danas will determine where the most widespread flooding occurs. However, all residents of South Korea and Japan should monitor this storm closely as more details become available in the coming days.

While rainfall will be the biggest concern associated with Danas, locally damaging winds are possible near and east of the storm track from the Ryukyu Islands into southern Japan.

Peak wind gusts of 80-100 km/h (50-62 mph) are possible across Yaeyama into Thursday night, local time.

The strongest winds from Danas will remain over the open waters of the East China Sea from Friday into early Saturday before approaching South Korea and southern Japan.

The areas most at risk for locally damaging winds and power outages will be western Kyushu and southwestern Honshu as Danas passes near the area from Saturday night into Sunday. A track farther west would bring the risk for damaging winds into all of southern and eastern South Korea.

Download the free AccuWeather app to stay alert for the latest tropical updates.