Former Super Typhoon Noul Becomes Post-Tropical, But Still Blasts Tokyo With High Winds (RECAP)

Tokyo's Haneda Airport, on the shores of Tokyo Bay, clocked a 61-mph sustained wind with a gust to 76 mph at 10:46 p.m. local time on May 12 (9:46 a.m. U.S. Eastern time on May 12). Nearby Yokohama gusted to 61 mph, while the Edogawa Waterfront observation site near the eastern edge of Tokyo gusted to 77 mph. Winds were much lighter inland; Tokyo's main observation site near the Imperial Palace only gusted to 43 mph.

Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches (50 to 100 mm) were common across the Tokyo area. Farther west, up to 6 inches fell in parts of Shizuoka and Kōchi prefectures, along the Pacific coast.

Noul originated in the tropical Western Pacific, brushing the island of Yap before strengthening rapidly and clipping the northern Philippines as a super typhoon May 9-10.

(MORE: Impacts From Noul | Noul Strikes Yap, then Philippines)

At 6 p.m. Japanese time on May 12 (5 a.m. U.S. Eastern time on May 12), the Japan Meteorological Agency declared Noul a non-tropical low-pressure system. The center of the low was south of Shikoku, one of Japan's four main islands.

Earlier, Noul passed directly over Amami Oshima, an island about 200 miles south of the southwestern tip of mainland Japan and about 120 miles northeast of Okinawa. The Amami Airport on that island observed a 69-mph (111-kph) sustained wind at 10:39 a.m. Japanese time; the peak gust there was 90 mph (144 kph) around the same time.

Noul was much stronger when it arrived in Japan's southernmost islands on May 11 (Japanese time). The island of Shimoji clocked a sustained wind of 102 mph (165 mph) just after 1 a.m. on May 12 (local time) while an intense rainband on the back side of Noul moved through. The peak gust was 131 mph (211 kph), setting a national record for Japan's highest wind gust ever recorded in the month of May, excluding the summit of Mount Fuji.

Noul, which looked unimpressive on satellite but showed a well-defined eye on Japanese radar early on May 12, made several slight wobbles to the left after passing through the Yaeyama island chain late May 11. These wobbles took the center just west of Okinawa rather than directly overhead. A heavy rain band swept through Okinawa around daybreak Tuesday, but quickly moved out, dropping only about half an inch (10 to 15 mm) of rain.

Winds gusted to nearly 50 mph (80 kph) on Okinawa around sunrise on May 12. Webcams showed traffic moving smoothly on the island, which is well prepared for typhoons and their powerful winds. The U.S. military's Kadena Air Base on Okinawa has declared "All Clear" as winds subsided quickly after Noul's passage.

(INTERACTIVE: Satellite Image of Noul)

As Noul passed through the Japan's Yaeyama island chain just east of Taiwan, the main observation site on Ishigaki Island (Ishigaki-jima) recorded a sustained wind of 64 mph (104 kph) just before midnight on May 11. That set the location's an all-time record for strongest sustained wind in the month of May – an impressive feat considering records have been kept there since 1897. The island gusted to 99 mph (159 mph) at about the same time.

Satellite imagery on the evening of May 11 (local time) showed Noul as a much less formidable typhoon than it had been over the weekend. There was still a large blob of convection (thunderstorms) associated with the storm, but no discernible eye. However, Japanese radar continued to indicate a very well-defined eye and eyewall as it tracked through Japan's southern islands and past Okinawa. That eyewall began to erode late in the morning on May 12 (local time) as dry air intruded into the western and southern quadrants of the storm.

Western Pacific tropical cyclones, known as typhoons when they reach hurricane-equivalent status, can form any time of year.

Owing partially to this year-round calendar of potential development, roughly one-third of all the Earth's tropical cyclones form in the western Pacific Basin. On average, 25 tropical cyclones form each year in the western Pacific Basin, with 15-16 of those strengthening to Category 1 equivalent typhoons.

(MORE: Hurricane Central | Tropical Update)

Philippines, Yap Recap

Super Typhoon Noul (known as Dodong in the Philippines) made a direct hit on the far northern Philippines on May 10 with strong, damaging winds, heavy rainfall and large, battering waves.

Maximum sustained winds were estimated to be 160 mph at the height of Noul's strength as the center moved near the far northern tip of Luzon Island on May 10, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

The Philippine weather bureau, PAGASA, says that the eye of Noul made landfall late on May 10 local time to the east of Santa Ana, Cagayan, near Pananapan Point on the northeastern tip of Luzon. (The Philippines are 12 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Daylight Time.) About 30,000 people live in Santa Ana, which is about 275 miles northeast of the Philippines capital, Manila.

PAGASA issued its highest-possible alert, "Storm Signal No. 4," for winds in excess of 106 mph (171 kph) in northern Cagayan province, Batanes province, and the Bubuyan and Calayan island groups in the far northern part of Luzon.

The typhoon moved north of mainland Luzon and into the small northernmost islands of the Philippines during the night of May 10-11 local time. The Basco Radar Site recorded a sustained east wind of 112 mph (180 kph) at 5 a.m. local time on May 11 as the eye approached from the south.

Typhoon Noul brought strong winds and heavy rain to Yap Island May 5-6, local time. Winds gusted up to 68 mph at Yap International Airport, and more than 10 inches of rain was reported.

Meteorologist Jonathan Erdman and Chris Dolce contributed to this report.

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