Publication Date August 1, 2017 | The Weather Channel

Typhoon Noru Likely to Become a Serious Threat to Southern Japan By This Weekend

The highest cloud tops, corresponding to the most vigorous convection, are shown in the brightest red colors. Clustering, deep convection around the center is a sign of a healthy tropical cyclone. Image: The Weather Channel
The highest cloud tops, corresponding to the most vigorous convection, are shown in the brightest red colors. Clustering, deep convection around the center is a sign of a healthy tropical cyclone. Image: The Weather Channel

Typhoon Noru could deliver a potentially destructive hit to southern Japan by this weekend, concluding a long and strange journey that the tropical cyclone has already made through the western Pacific Ocean.

Noru was equivalent in strength to a Category 3 hurricane as of Tuesday morning U.S. time (Japan is 13 hours ahead of U.S. EDT) and was centered more than 600 miles southeast of Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.

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Noru has been a tropical cyclone for more than 11 days since first becoming a tropical depression on July 20. Here's a recap of what's happened so far.

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Noru strengthened from a tropical storm with estimated 70-mph winds (60 knots) to a Category 5 super typhoon with estimated 160-mph winds (140 knots) in just 18 hours from 8 p.m. EDT July 29 to 2 p.m. EDT July 30, according to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center.