Typhoon Megi Recap: Taiwan Blasted with Wind Gusts Over 120 mph, Up to 40 Inches of Rain

 

megi-landfall-27sep16

 

Typhoon Megi Recap: Taiwan Blasted with Wind Gusts Over 120 mph, Up to 40 Inches of Rain

Megi Kills 5, Injures Hundreds in China and Taiwan

Typhoon Megi made it’s second landfall in China early Wednesday morning with winds at around 75 mph.

Story Highlights
Typhoon Megi crashed ashore in Taiwan on September 27 at Category 4 strength.Megi made its final landfall in southeast China the following morning.Wind gusts over 120 mph and up to 40 inches of rain were measured in Taiwan.

Typhoon Megi made landfall in Taiwan, bringing feet of rain and wind gusts over 100 mph on September 27, then brought high winds and heavy rain to southeast China the following day.

(NEWS RECAP: Almost 3 Million Lose Power in Taiwan)

According to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), Megi’s 35 mile-wide eye came ashore in northeast Taiwan’s Hualien County around 1 p.m. local time – or 1 a.m. U.S. EDT, Tuesday, Sept. 27.

JTWC estimated maximum sustained winds at landfall were 115 knots or roughly 130 mph, the equivalent of a Category 4 tropical cyclone.

(WATCH: High-Resolution Satellite Loop of Landfall from NWS/OPC)

Typhoon Megi makes landfall in northeast Taiwan at 1 p.m. local time on September 27, 2016, as the equivalent of a Category 4 storm.

Contrast that view of Megi’s eyewall from typhoon chaser James Reynolds with the view from fellow chaser Josh Morgerman from the eye of Megi.

Megi was the third typhoon to either landfall or brush Taiwan in less than two week’s time, after Malakas passed to the east of the island about 10 days ago, and Meranti hammered the island three days prior to Malakas.

(RECAPS: Malakas | Meranti)

Taipingshan, in Datong Township, picked up 40.24 inches (1022 millimeters) of rain September 27-28, more than the average annual precipitation in Chicago. A dozen other locations in Taiwan picked up over 30 inches (762 millimeters) of rain over that two-day period, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

Rain was falling at the rate of over 3 inches per hour, at times, Tuesday.

Wind gusts clocked as high as 124 mph at Wuqi on Tuesday, according to CWB. Some other notable peak gusts include:

  • Pengjiayu: 105 mph
  • Taoyuan Int’l Airport, Taipei: 99 mph (with peak sustained wind of 71 mph)
  • Songshan Int’l Airport, Taipei: 98 mph
  • Taichung: 73 mph

(MORE: Typhoon Alley…The Planet’s Most Intense Tropical Cyclones)

As mentioned earlier, Megi was the fourth typhoon to either brush or make landfall in Taiwan this season, and third to do so in just under two weeks’ time.

Typhoons to either landfall or brush Taiwan in 2016 through September 21, along with dates of their closest approach and intensities.

According to the CWB, 3 to 4 typhoons make landfall or pass close enough to trigger significant impacts on Taiwan each year, on average. August, July, and September, in that order, are the most likely months for typhoons, there.

As many as seven typhoons have struck Taiwan in four separate years, most recently in 2001, according to the CWB.

Megi then made its final landfall in southeast China, near Quanzhou, early Wednesday morning, local time, at Category 1 equivalent strength.

Prior to the Taiwan landfall, Megi rapidly intensified with wind speeds increasing from a 50 mph tropical storm to a 105 mph typhoon in just 24 hours.

On September 26, Megi replaced its eyewall, something common in stronger tropical cyclones, which could be seen from Taiwan’s CWB radar on September 26.

Following that eyewall replacement cycle, Megi reintensified to a Category 4 equivalent storm prior to its Taiwan landfall.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Typhoon Megi Photos

1 of 31

 

 

___
http://weather.com/storms/typhoon/news/typhoon-megi-forecast-taiwan-china?from=launch:alert:pushNotification:breaking_news