Typhoon Jongdari Took a Weird Path Across Japan

Watches Issued In Caribbean For Future Ernesto

Typhoon Jongdari made landfall in Japan by taking an unusual path towards the country in the final full week of July 2018.

Jongdari tracked to the northeast but then curved toward the northwest as it approached Japan. Typically, systems curve northeastward at this latitude.

This unusual track was due to a strong upper-level low located near Japan and a ridge of high pressure to its northeast that pulled Jongdari westward toward mainland Japan.

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Most tropical cyclones approach Japan from the southwest or south and then track northward across the country. This was not the case with Jongdari, as it moved westward and then southward.

This was only the third storm in 30 years that has taken a route northwestward into Japan. Typhoon Lionrock in 2016 and Typhoon Mac in 1989 had a similar trajectories into Japan. However, neither storm took the westward and then southward path that Jongdari has, and neither re-intensified.

Jongdari's strange path continued after landfall over southern Japan before it finally made its westward push towards China.

A weak steering environment led to a rather erratic path featuring a counterclockwise loop near the Ryukyu Islands. Jongdari fluctuated between tropical depression and tropical storm strength during this time.