Darilaut – As of Saturday (August 8) afternoon, Typhoon Dolphin is located in the East China Sea. Before heading toward China’s east coast, Dolphin passed over small islands in southwestern Japan while rotating counter-clockwise.
During its journey, Dolphin intensified into a “Very Strong Typhoon,” and its trajectory was quite unique, forming four corners and a hexagonal pattern.
Dolphin passed near Wadomari on Okinoerabu Island—part of the Amami Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture—on Friday (August 7) morning, then took a southwestward path approaching Okinawa.
For nearly 24 hours, Typhoon Dolphin remained in close proximity to these small islands. Its core (center) was very close to Okinawa Island. The system brought strong winds, heavy rain, and high waves.
Near Okinawa, Dolphin turned and traced a rectangular path. It lingered near Okinawa for a considerable time before moving to approach or make landfall on the small islands of Izena and Iheya.
Subsequently, this very strong typhoon moved northwest, west, and southwest, tracing a semicircle in the East China Sea.
Dolphin did not head directly west; on Saturday morning, it turned to form a six-cornered shape.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) tracking data, Dolphin moved southwest, then south, southeast, northeast, north, and northwest. This sequence created the hexagonal shape of Typhoon Dolphin’s path.
As of 11:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, Dolphin was heading west-northwest at a speed of 15 km/h (9 knots).
The system has a central pressure of 945 hPa (hectopascals), packing maximum sustained winds of 45 meters per second (85 knots) near its center and peak instantaneous wind speeds of 60 meters per second (120 knots), according to the JMA. The JMA reported a storm-force wind area (speeds of 50 knots or higher) extending 280 km (150 NM) to the north and 185 km (100 NM) to the south of the center.
A gale-force wind area (speeds of 30 knots or higher) extends 560 km (300 NM) to the north and 500 km (270 NM) to the south.
As of 11:30 a.m. Saturday, based on the Zoom.earth tracking path, Typhoon Dolphin was located 500 km east-southeast of Wenzhou.
Earlier, at 10:00 a.m., the center of Dolphin was approximately 520 kilometers east-southeast of Wenzhou, according to the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO).
The HKO forecasts that Dolphin will move westward at about 10 kilometers per hour across the East China Sea. As Tropical Cyclone Dolphin moves toward the Zhejiang and northern Fujian regions, subsiding air from the storm’s outer circulation will continue to cause very hot weather in the area throughout the weekend and into Monday.
High temperatures will also trigger thunderstorms. Southwesterly airflow is expected to affect coastal Guangdong by the middle of next week.
Over the past six hours, Dolphin was positioned 187 km west-northwest of Kadena Air Base and has been moving northwest at 11 km/h (6 knots). Maximum significant wave heights have reached 10.7 meters (35 feet), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).