By Courtney Spamer, AccuWeather meteorologist
The Western Pacific Ocean will be active again in the coming week, sending more tropical impacts to countries in eastern Asia.
Lekima, which strengthened to a typhoon in the western Pacific basin on Wednesday, looks to be the first of two tropical systems to make landfall in the coming week.
As of Wednesday night local time, Lekima was equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane in the North Atlantic Ocean and quickly strengthened into a Category 3 over the open waters of the western Philippine Sea.
Still over water, the main impacts thus far have been rough seas, churned up from northern Luzon to Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands.
However, that will change as the system's northwesterly track moves Lekima towards the Sakashima Islands of Japan and Taiwan for the latter half of the week.
Impacts will first be felt along the Sakashim Islands of Japan, before passing near or just north of Taiwan. Over the weekend, Lekima will look to make landfall in China or pass dangerously close to its coast.
"Areas from northern Taiwan to eastern China look to bear the brunt of Lekima through Sunday," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk.
The exact track of the system will determine which areas have the strongest winds. At this time, the northern tip of Taiwan to the cities of Wenzhou and Taizhou in eastern China are likely to have the strongest wind gusts topping 125 km/h (80 mph).
"An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 215 km/h (135 mph) will be possible," added Houk.
The most likely location for such winds will be over open water or at coastal locations and will be capable of downing trees, sparking power outages and causing structural damage.
Lekima is expected to lose wind strength slowly after interacting with land in eastern China, decreasing the system down to a tropical storm.
No matter the exact strength of Lekima, heavy, tropical rainfall is likely to bring flooding from southern Taiwan to eastern China; with enough inundation, mudslides are also a possibility in the higher terrain.
Rainfall will be the most widespread impact across the area. Locations between Shanghai, China, to Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, could receive up to 150 mm (6 inches) of tropical rainfall. Locations in northern and western Taiwan and the eastern half of the Zhegiang are most likely to see the heaviest rainfall, with over 200 mm (7.9 inches) of rain. The rainfall AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 450 mm (18 inches) will be most likely in the highest terrain.
Transportation delays, for not only ships in the area, but also air and road travel, are likely. The public should heed any government evacuations and prepare ahead of the storm.
After effecting eastern China through the weekend, the exact track of Lekima is uncertain. It could continue to move northward into the Yellow Sea, impacting northeastern China and the far western edge of the Korean Peninsula. However, the possibility still remains that Lekima could curve off to the east, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to South Korea and southwestern Japan.
Which track Lekima takes could be determined by the other newly formed tropical system in the Western Pacific Ocean: Krosa.
Viewed from space, the above images shows infrared satellite footage of Lekima (left) and Krosas (right) over the Western Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, August 7. (Photo/CIMSS)
Krosa developed northwest of Guam on Tuesday, rapidly intensifying to a severe tropical storm. It strengthened into a typhoon early Thursday morning. It's the third tropical cyclone to reach typhoon status in a week.
Krosa is currently located near the Northern Mariana Islands and is bringing heavy rainfall to the nearby islands including Guam. Over 150 mm (6 inches) of rain was reported in Guam from Friday through Wednesday evening.
As Krosa moves farther northwest in the coming days, it will move into an area of warm waters and low wind shear, increasing the chances that Krosa will continue to strengthen.
"A continued northward track this week will take the powerful tropical cyclone toward Japan this weekend with the potential for impacts to the country early next week," said AccuWeather
With Krosa so close in proximity to Lekima, the two systems are likely to feed off of each other and influence one another. Because of this, the exact track of Krosa is very uncertain.
Krosa could curve northeastward just short of Japan, sparing the islands of more tropical rainfall and winds. The country already dealt with heavy, tropical rainfall from Francisco earlier this week.
However, it is also possible that Krosa moves in a more northerly direction, hitting southern Japan full force. There is also the potential that Krosa stalls well south of Japan, delaying any impacts to later next week
Be sure to keep checking back with AccuWeather for latest updates on the tropics around the globe.
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