Typhoon readiness stressed after second near-miss this month

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Justin Veazie
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  While many base residents planned for a day off thanks to Mother Nature, Typhoon Guchol had other plans as it veered off toward mainland Japan at the last minute -- sending everyone back to normal operations before sunrise Tuesday.

"(Typhoon) Guchol gave us maximum sustained winds of 32 knots with gusts up to 45 knots recorded at three different observing points on the island," said Capt. Matthew Klick, 18th Operations Support Squadron weather flight commander. The captain also said the eye of the storm came within 70 nautical miles southeast of the island early Tuesday.

Despite the recent setback for storm enthusiasts and movie marathon watchers, another storm may be on the horizon.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center was tracking Tropical Storm Talim off the southern coast of Taiwan. The weaker storm system was forecasted to pass 160 nautical miles northwest of the base around Friday morning.

"It is still a few days away from Okinawa, but there is a significant variance in how this storm may develop," Klick explained Tuesday.

While the two typhoons this month, Mawar and Guchol, have turned out to be less than expected, 18th Civil Engineer Squadron officials stress the importance of residents staying vigilant when the typhoon readiness condition countdown begins.

"In general, the Kadena community was very proactive in preparing for Typhoon Guchol," explained Lt. Col. James Greene, 18th Civil Engineer Squadron commander. "Driving around during storm preparations, I could see that the base populace, including military family housing residents, had done a great job policing up outdoor items and helping each other prepare."

The lieutenant colonel said units should always remember their deployed members and offer assistance to their spouses accordingly.

"Looking ahead, we need to guard against complacency and short memories, since all too often we expect the next storm to behave like the last," said Greene. "In this case, we escaped relatively easily. If Typhoon Guchol had tracked along its initial predicted path, we could have borne the brunt of its winds and suffered significant damage. The best advice I can give is to take each storm seriously and prepare accordingly - because you never know what can happen."

For more information on typhoon conditions, preparations and information sources during the storm, visit Kadena's typhoon fact sheet.