Typhoon Francisco has continued to weaken in the western Pacific Ocean and is now the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane.
During the past weekend, Francisco peaked in intensity as a super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph.
Francisco Satellite Imagery
Francisco Forecast Track
Guam avoided the worst impacts from Francisco, however the island did see bands of heavy rain and gusty winds at times on Thursday (U.S. time).
The center of Francisco is expected to remain east of Okinawa, however, tropical storm-force wind gusts and bands of locally heavy rain may wrap into Okinawa through Thursday.
Francisco is expected to weaken steadily starting Thursday as it takes a sharp northeast turn under the influence of increasing westerly winds aloft.
The most likely path for Francisco will be offshore of Japan, to the east and southeast of Tokyo, keeping most of the wind impacts offshore.
However, Francisco is also merging with a cold front arriving from eastern Asia. In fact, the latest radar from the Japanese Meteorological Agency shows bands of rain already setting up over southern Japan.
Given saturated ground from Typhoon Wipha just over a week ago, the threat of additional flash flooding and mudslides is high until Francisco pulls away from Japan Saturday.
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