Typhoon Yagi, after sweeping through the Philippines, has gained strength as it heads towards China and northern Vietnam, even reaching super typhoon status at one point. The storm is expected to make landfall in Vietnam on Saturday (September 7).
Path of Typhoon Yagi (Image: Vietnam Disaster Monitoring System).
Reaching Super Typhoon Status
According to various international weather monitoring stations, since September 3, Typhoon Yagi has significantly strengthened—faster than most models predicted for the storm’s intensity.
By September 4, the storm’s core pressure dropped to 977 hPa (hPa: a unit of atmospheric pressure) and then further decreased to 922 hPa within 24 hours. The average wind speed increased from 130 to 240 km/h, with peak gusts reaching even higher.
Notably, there was a moment when Typhoon Yagi attained super typhoon status briefly.
The Emergence of Typhoon Yagi
At the end of August, rain and thunderstorms began forming in the sea 500 km northwest of the island nation of Palau. By August 31, this rain cluster was classified as a tropical depression by the Japan Meteorological Agency, the precursor to a tropical storm.
As it moved over warm ocean waters (29-30 degrees Celsius) towards the northwest, convection around the depression’s center became increasingly evident.
On September 1, this vortex was named Enteng by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, with the international name being Yagi. Just one day later, it strengthened into a storm and made landfall on the Luzon coast (Philippines), causing significant infrastructure damage and fatalities.
Noi Bai Airport will temporarily close from 10 AM to 7 PM on September 7 (Illustrative image: Ngoc Tan).
After sweeping through the Philippines, Typhoon Yagi continued to strengthen due to warm sea temperatures—this is considered a catalyst for increasing the storm’s power.
Current models predict that Typhoon Yagi will reach its peak intensity on September 6, with wind speeds expected to exceed 200 km/h, peaking at a predicted 250 km/h.
In addition to the extremely high wind speeds, the storm also has a “suction effect” at its center, causing water levels to rise by several meters in coastal areas. Yagi is the ninth named tropical storm of the season and is also the strongest storm of the year in the northwest Pacific region.
Making Landfall in Vietnam
According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, from the evening and night of September 6, the Gulf of Tonkin (including the islands of Bach Long Vi and Co To) will experience winds gradually increasing to levels 8-9, then rising to levels 10-12, with areas near the storm’s center reaching levels 13-14, gusting up to level 17, and very rough seas.
On land, from the night of September 6 and early morning on September 7, coastal areas from Quang Ninh to Thanh Hoa will see winds picking up to levels 6-7, then increasing to 8-9, with areas near the storm’s center reaching levels 10-12, gusting to level 14; regions deep in the northeastern land will experience winds of levels 6-8, with gusts of levels 9-11 (with the strongest winds expected between noon and evening on September 7).
The northern part of the East Sea will have waves as high as 7-9 meters, with areas near the storm’s center seeing waves of 10-12 meters, resulting in very rough seas.
From the night of September 6 to the morning of September 9, coastal areas from Quang Ninh to Thanh Hoa will experience waves 2-3 meters high, increasing to 2-4 meters, with areas near the storm’s center having waves of 3-5 meters.
Coastal provinces from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ninh need to be on guard for storm surges, with predicted wave heights ranging from 0.5 to 1.8 meters. Specifically, Quang Ninh is at risk for surges of 1.5 to 1.8 meters; Hai Phong and Thai Binh from 1.2 to 1.5 meters; Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh from 0.8 to 1.2 meters; Thanh Hoa from 0.5 to 1 meter.
From the night of September 6 to the morning of September 9, the northern region and Thanh Hoa may experience heavy rain, with some areas seeing very heavy rain and thunderstorms, with total rainfall generally between 100-350 mm, and some places exceeding 500 mm.
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