Typhoon Vongfong strengthened into a Super typhoon on Tuesday, October 7.
At 11 a.m. EDT on Oct. 7, Vongfong’s maximum sustained winds were near 135 knots (155.4 mph/250 kph) making it a strong Category 4 Typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Vongfong’s center was located near latitude 17.5 north and longitude 133.6 east. That’s about 649 nautical miles (747 miles/1,202 km) southeast of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Vongfong is moving toward the west at 11 knots (12.6 mph/ 20.3 kph)
Vongfong is creating massive ocean swells with seas to 47 feet (14.3 meters), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).
JTWC forecasters expect Vongfong to continue tracking to the west until it runs into a trough or elongated area of low pressure sometime on Oct. 9 that will turn it to the north. By Oct. 12, the JWTC expects the center of Vongfong to be near the Japanese island of Amami Oshima. Kadena Air Base and Amami Oshima should prepare for typhoon conditions.
