Growing typhoon could disrupt start of Korea's rainy season
Mekkhala is set to veer toward Japan rather than hit the peninsula, but forecasters say the moisture it drives north may reach Jeju and fuel heavy rain and gusts
Typhoon Mekkhala as captured by Japan's Himawari satelliteRAMMB/CIRA
Typhoon Mekkhala, the seventh of the season, is gaining strength as it tracks north toward Japan. It is not expected to hit Korea directly, but forecasters say it could still disrupt the country's weather and the start of the summer rainy season.
The Korea Meteorological Administration said Mekkhala, which formed Saturday, was moving west-northwest at 11 kilometers per hour (7 miles per hour) in waters about 1,180 kilometers (730 miles) east of Manila as of 3 p.m. Sunday. With a central pressure of 980 hectopascals and maximum winds of 29 meters per second (65 miles per hour), it ranked as a strong typhoon on the agency's scale. The name Mekkhala, submitted by Thailand, means "angel of thunder."
The storm is forecast to strengthen further by Monday, then turn north near Taiwan and head toward Okinawa, Japan. Its track beyond that is hard to predict. The season's sixth typhoon, Jangmi, which lasted from late May to early June, skirted the Korean Peninsula as it moved into waters south of Japan. It did, however, trigger an advisory over distant seas, making it the first typhoon to affect Korea this year.
Forecasters say the bigger question is not whether Mekkhala makes landfall but the tropical moisture it pushes north. That moisture can unsettle the pressure systems around the peninsula and intensify rain and wind.
Trajectory prediction of typhoon MekkhalaKOREA METEOROLOGICAL ADMINISTRATION
"With a moisture corridor open, the tropical moisture pushed up by the typhoon could reach as far as Jeju," said Kang Nam-young, a geography professor at Kyungpook National University. "If the moisture comes in as a concentrated mass, it can produce compound hazards such as gusts or locally heavy rain, so we need to prepare."
A wild card for the rainy season too
The typhoon could also affect when this summer's rainy season begins. Heavy rain has fallen across southern Korea recently, but the weather agency said the official monsoon seasonhas not started. The North Pacific high, which pushes up the stationary rain front and drives heavy seasonal downpours, has yet to settle firmly into place.
Cold air from the north has pushed the stationary front south to waters below Japan as of Sunday. Its movement could shift again depending on the typhoon's path and strength.
Showers are forecast in places nationwide on Monday, with 5 to 40 millimeters (0.2 to 1.6 inches) of rain expected. The weather agency said showers would fall mainly across the greater Seoul area and inland between Monday afternoon and evening, and it warned of hail or graupel mainly in northern Gyeonggi and central and northern Gangwon, urging people to secure outdoor structures and guard against accidents. Jeju, already soaked by recent rain, could see another 20 to 60 millimeters, raising the risk of further damage.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
