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If it makes landfall on the Korean Peninsula, it would be the fourth named storm to do so this year.
Unfortunately for parts of Japan and South Korea, Typhoon Maysak is a significantly stronger system than Bavi. And further strengthening is expected before its initial arrival ashore Tuesday morning.
Maysak is forecast to strengthen into a potential Category 4 equivalent hurricane, with winds of 220 kilometers per hour as it passes through Japan’s Ryukyu Islands.
The system will be dangerously close to Okinawa City early Tuesday and has already caused major disruptions to air travel in the region.
Maysak, a Cambodian origin name for a type of tree, is forecast to weaken only slightly as it approaches a second land west of Busan, South Korea, sometime Wednesday afternoon.
The winds are forecast to be close to 200 kph (124 mph), strong enough to designate it as a major Category 3 hurricane if it were in the Atlantic Ocean.
The threat of dangerous storm surges and landslides on the high ground of the Korean Peninsula is a major concern.
After all, the region is currently experiencing one of the wettest monsoons on record. Several episodes of historic rains have soaked the landscape since June.
Long-term forecasting computer models suggest that another potentially powerful typhoon could hit the region late this weekend or early next week.
