Typhoon Chan-hom's Moisture Brings Rain to Eastern Regions, But Will It Relieve the Drought?

[Anchor]

We really need some rain to end the drought. Typhoon Chan-hom, the 15th typhoon of the season, made landfall in Japan yesterday, August 11, and dissipated in the East Sea today. The moisture left behind by the typhoon is now flowing into South Korea. However, it is expected to fall short of thoroughly soaking the parched ground.

Reporter Jeong Gu-hui has the details.

[Reporter]

Last night, Tokyo, Japan, entered the direct path of Typhoon Chan-hom as it made landfall.

Strong winds made it extremely difficult for people to walk with their umbrellas.

Street trees were uprooted across the city, blocking roads, and construction structures were torn apart by the winds, leaving steel frames swaying dangerously.

At Haneda Airport, around 60 flights were canceled.

Typhoon Chan-hom is the first typhoon in history to make landfall in Ibaraki Prefecture in eastern Japan since weather records began in 1951.

In stark contrast to typical typhoons, it moved backward from east to west across the Japanese archipelago, before moving out into the East Sea around 9:00 AM today and dissipating shortly afterward.

The dissipation of the typhoon is also related to the winds blowing over South Korea.

Morning temperatures plummeted sharply today, didn't they?

The temperature in Seoul dropped to 21.3°C (70°F), making it the coolest day so far this August. This is because a high-pressure system stationed in the northern part of the country has been continuously pushing in cold northeasterly winds.

These cold northeasterly winds accelerated the breakdown of the typhoon's structure, causing it to dissipate as soon as it moved into the East Sea.

Let's take a look at the current satellite imagery.

As you can see, a typhoon used to be here, but its structure has collapsed, leaving behind only moisture that is slowly making its way into South Korea.

Looking at the radar, as you can see, it has started bringing rain to the eastern regions starting today. Through tomorrow, 10 to 50 mm of rain is expected along the Gangwon and Gyeongbuk east coasts, while 10 to 40 mm is forecast for the Gyeongnam coast, including Busan and Ulsan.

In the inland regions of Gyeongsang, Jeolla, and Chungcheong provinces, where the drought is severe, the atmosphere will become unstable due to the moisture left by the typhoon, bringing localized showers to some areas.

While this will be a welcome relief amid the severe drought, it is currently unlikely to bring enough rainfall to completely resolve the drought conditions.

(Video Editing: Cho Mu-hwan, Design: Kim Han-gil)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.