Winter’s a-coming. Image: (NOAA/NASA and RAMMB/CIRA)
As last week drew to a close, a hyper-focused and intensely powerful storm zipped north from Japan’s east coast. 180 mph winds had it clocked at a category 5 hurricane at the beginning of last week, though it was downgraded by week’s end to a category 1. Shocking imagery and headlines popped up all over the internet as well as talk of 50-foot-plus waves in the Bering Sea. Surfers in Alaska might’ve had the thrill and hypothermia of their lives.
According to Mashable, the University of Wisconsin’s Space Science and Engineering Center put together the below video that demonstrates Nuri peaking twice — first as the second-most intense typhoon on record this season, and second as the most intense Bering Sea storm on record.
In case you missed it, note Typhoon Nuri in the black circle below.
Screenshot: YouTube
The real takeaway from Nuri isn’t the destruction it didn’t cause. It’s that this storm was so powerful that it shuffled the entire Northern Hemisphere’s weather pattern. Northwest Canada will see considerably warmer than average air temperatures. To the south, frigid Arctic air will envelop the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains. Basically, bust out your winter coats, which might not be such a bad thing. Sort of a silver lining, depending where you live. It could be the kick in the pants Los Angeles needed to finally make a real transition into fall.
However, plenty of king crab fishermen out of Seattle, Washington, do feel the brunt of Nuri. Regardless of their level of involvement, the local fishing community knows, first-hand, the risks the boats out at sea take.
One man said, “they’ve got their hands full,” in reference to his friends who had boats in the water during Typhoon Nuri, and KIRO7’s reporter stated, “everyone knows someone stuck in waves more than five stories high.”
At this point, no damage has been reported nor have any boats or their crews been hurt. Stay tuned for any updates on the aftermath of Nuri.
