Typhoon

Typhoon Goni Recap: Mainland Japan Landfall; 159 MPH Wind Gust in Ryukyu Islands; Deadly Impacts in the Philippines

Typhoon Goni made landfall in the Kumamoto prefecture on the Japanese Island of Kyushu just before 6 a.m. Tuesday (Japanese time), August 25, after having crushed the Ryukyu Islands and soaking the northern Philippines.

Peak Wind Gust Reports - Typhoon Goni
The shaded colors are approximate wind speeds. Blue mostly indicates tropical storm force winds, but the red and magenta shaded areas are experiencing much stronger gusts.

Goni maintained a strong core as it tracked into southern mainland Japan. A wind gust to 102 mph was reported at Makurazaki early Tuesday morning.

Mount Unzen in Nagasaki prefecture broke its all-time one-hour rainfall record when 134.5 mm, 5.30 inches, of rain was measured in one hour on Tuesday morning. Miyagawa in Mie prefecture picked up an incredible 677 mm, 26.65 inches, of rain in 24 hours ending at 9:00pm local time Tuesday, an August record for the location dating to 1978.

(TIMELINE: Goni Impacts Japanese Mainland)

Goni pounded Japan's Ryukyu Islands Sunday night into Monday Japanese time (Sunday U.S. time) after a period of rapid intensification.

Winds gusted up to 158.8 mph (71 m/s) at one location on the island of Ishigakijima on Sunday night Japanese time, according to data from the Japanese Meteorological Agency.

Prior to impacting southern Japan, Goni brought deadly impacts to the northern Philippines as it moved very slowly just north of Luzon Island. This resulted in a prolonged period of heavy rain and strong winds.

(MORE: More Than a Dozen Dead in the Philippines)

After stalling for a time, steered by high pressure aloft to the southeast, Goni began moving northeast late in the weekend. This took Goni on a path through the populated islands of Ishigakijima and Miyakojima where the extreme winds mentioned above occurred.

The center of Goni then passed west of the main island of Okinawa, including Kadena Air Base, on Monday, local time. Winds gusted to 76 mph at Kadena Air Base.

A deep upper-level low pressure system over eastern China grabbed Goni's circulation and steered it north into far southwest Japan Monday into Tuesday.

Typhoon Goni rainfall totals in the northern Philippines, Taiwan and Japan's Ryukyu Islands. — Some rainfall reports from the Philippines, Taiwan and Japanese islands from Typhoon Goni.

Typhoon Goni: Philippines and Taiwan Impacts

As Goni made its closest pass to the Philippine island of Luzon, the forward speed of the system came to nearly a complete stop.

This proved problematic as a steady stream of heavy rain and gusty winds lashed the Batanes and Babuyan Islands of the northern Philippines and Taiwan.

The impacts from Goni have killed more than a dozen people in the Philippines, where the tropical cyclone is known as Ineng.

Sustained tropical storm-force winds of 45 mph (72 kph) were reported on the island of Calayan as well as at the Basco Radar Site on Batan Island. Gusts to 51 mph were recorded at Aparri on the island of Luzon.

(MORE: Typhoon Goni: Several Dead in Philippines)

Parts of northern Luzon picked up torrential rainfall at the end of last week. Baguio City has picked up over 28 inches of rain thanks to the relentless tropical fetch south of Goni's center. Laoag City has also picked up over 22 inches of rain.

The Taiwanese island of Lanyu, southeast of the main island of Taiwan, has reported wind gusts up to 72 mph (32 meters per second).

Lanyu also picked up 9.94 inches (252.5 millimeters) of rain Friday through Sunday morning, including 6.59 inches of rain Saturday alone.

Saipan and Guam Impacted By Heavy Rain, Strong Winds

Goni first affected Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands as a tropical storm.

Tropical storm-force winds (39 mph or greater) occurred as the center passed through the islands. Off Saipan, a sustained tropical storm-force wind of 43 mph was reported just before 11 p.m. local time (7 a.m. EDT) Saturday. A peak gust of 61 mph was recorded there at 10:23 p.m.

On Guam, Andersen Air Force Base clocked a 49-mph sustained wind at just before 5 a.m. local time Sunday (3 p.m. EDT Saturday), with gusts to 58 mph, as a heavy rain band lashed the northern end of Guam. Guam International Airport near Hagatna, Guam's capital, gusted as high as 46 mph at 5:28 a.m. local time Sunday.

Heavy rain arrived Saturday and continued Sunday, prompting flash flood warnings for Guam and Rota. Guam International Airport reported 13.86 inches of rain Friday through 4 p.m. local time Sunday. (Guam is 14 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Daylight Time.)

This is the second tropical cyclone to affect Saipan in the last two weeks. The island is still struggling to recover from Typhoon Soudelor.

The Pacific News Center reported about 4,000 households in Saipan, or over 25 percent, have requested assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Power outages and a lack of running water and food have plagued the 44-square-mile island about 135 miles northeast of Guam since an intensifying Soudelor hit the island square on Aug. 2.

(WATCH: Saipan Struggles After Soudelor)

Guam's main newspaper, the Pacific Daily News, says some families on Guam are also recovering from typhoon damage – in their case, damage from Typhoon Dolphin back in May. Dolphin's eyewall passed over Guam, delivering gusts as high as 106 mph to the northern end of the island.

All in all, Goni attained the intensity of a Category 4 equivalent tropical cyclone three separate times along its eleven-plus day voyage from east of the Marianas to the Sea of Japan.

Goni never attained "super typhoon" status (estimated maximum sustained winds of at least 150 mph), but its twin well to the east, Atsani, did become a super typhoon, but fortunately remained well east and southeast of the Japanese mainland.

Meteorologist Chris Dolce contributed to this report.