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

[Anchor]

We really need some rain to break 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 be insufficient to thoroughly drench the parched earth.

Reporter Jeong Gu-hui has the details.

[Reporter]

Last night, Tokyo, Japan, entered the direct path of the 15th typhoon Chan-hom as it made landfall.

Winds were so strong that people struggled just to hold onto their umbrellas.

Fallen street trees blocked roads across downtown areas, and construction scaffolding was torn apart by the wind, leaving steel frames swaying precariously.

At Haneda Airport, about 60 flights were canceled.

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

Unlike typical typhoons, it moved in reverse from east to west, cutting across the Japanese archipelago before moving out into the East Sea around 9:00 AM today and dissipating shortly after.

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

Morning temperatures dropped sharply today, did they not?

Seoul's temperature plummeted to 21.3°C (70°F), marking the coolest day so far this August. This is because a high-pressure system stationed to the north of the country has been continuously blowing in cold northeasterly winds.

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

Let us take a look at the current satellite imagery.

As you can see, where the typhoon used to be, its structure has now collapsed, leaving behind only moisture that is slowly moving into South Korea.

Looking at the radar, rain has started falling in the eastern regions today as seen here. Through tomorrow, 10 to 50 mm of rain is expected along the Gangwon and Gyeongbuk east coasts, while 10 to 40 mm is forecasted for coastal Gyeongsang regions including Busan and Ulsan.

In the inland areas of Gyeongsang, Jeolla, and Chungcheong provinces, where the drought is severe, localized showers are expected to occur as the atmosphere becomes unstable due to the moisture left by the typhoon.

While this will be a welcome relief amidst the severe drought, it is unlikely to bring enough rain to fully resolve the drought conditions at this time.

(Video Editing: Cho Mu-hwan, Design: Kim Han-gil)