Typhoon Muifa Eyes Okinawa, China a Potential Target

By Jim Andrews, Senior Meteorologist

Aug 2, 2011; 2:36 PM ET

Typhoon Muifa, east-southeast of Okinawa, on Aug 2, 2011. Navy Research Lab Monterey (NRLMRY) image.

Typhoon Muifa will track over or near Okinawa later this week and could ultimately head for eastern China or the Korean Peninsula.

Destructive wind and torrential rain will pose a significant threat to Okinawa on Thursday into Friday. Okinawa is among the Ryukyu Islands, located southwest of mainland Japan.

On Tuesday, satellite imagery showed that the eye of Muifa had pulled to within about 400 miles east-southeast of Okinawa.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) pegged highest sustained winds at 110 knots [【航】节(=浬/小时),浬,海里] (about 125 mph), or that of a Category 3 hurricane. Storm movement was towards the north-northwest at 8 mph.

Muifa will hook more towards the west on Wednesday, owing to steering effects of high pressure near mainland Japan. Muifa will then approach Okinawa as a Category 2 or Category 3 storm on Thursday.

Beyond the Ryukyu Islands, the track of Muifa will be over the East China Sea, where likely movement is not yet clear.

Forecast tools available to AccuWeather.com show divergent possible paths. One forecast scenario would culminate in landfall on China, maybe near Shanghai.

Another possible path would be more northerly with landfall on the Korea Peninsula being possible.