Typhoon Neoguri and Fukushima

Nothing newer than about 8 hours ago that I can find.

Neoguri super-typhoon in Japan is El Niño harbinger

An unusually early Pacific super-typhoon with a wrinkle has led to more than half a million people in Japan being advised to evacuate their homes this week.

New Scientist,

9 July, 2014

The category 4 super-typhoon Neoguri spun up winds of more than 200 kilometres per hour before it dropped to category 3 and passed Okinawa on Tuesday, where it caused substantial flooding. By the time it reaches mainland Japan, it is expected to drop to category 1. It was probably sparked by a developing El Niño.

Meteorologists around the world were intrigued by a wrinkle seen in the image above, like a tail coming out of the eye of the storm. These "cloud cliffs" are sometimes seen in strong cyclones but nobody knows what causes them. "It's a kind of odd feature that's got people talking," says Brian McNoldy from the University of Miami in Florida.

More to come

Although it looks like a scar where there are no clouds, McNoldy says it's really a sudden drop in their height, casting a shadow on the lower clouds. He says it might be caused by ice being thrown up particularly high in the atmosphere near the eye by intense thunderstorms, and then being spread in just one direction as the storm turns.

As it has come unusually early, McNoldy says we should expect similar typhoons this year. "This is just the first time that all the conditions were falling into place. There will probably be more," he says.

Typhoon Neoguri is probably the biggest storm in decades to hit Japan so early, says Hiroyuki Murakami from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. "Normally, the peak typhoon season for Japan is between September and October." He says the strength and the timing of the storm is likely to be a result of the likely El Niño later this year.

The warmer water in the eastern Pacific is pulling their genesis that way, Murakami says, giving them more time to grow in strength by the time they make landfall around Japan.

Japan Typhoon & Fukushima Ice Wall Update 7/9/14

Will the Typhoon Cause Another Fukushima Meltdown?

Thom Hartmann talks with Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Watchdog-Beyond Nuclear Website: www.beyondnuclear.org, about possible effects from a massive typhoon near Japan's crippled Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

Radiation Expert: California Fukushima Exposure being Covered up - Kevin Kamps

A radioactive waste specialist, Kevin Kamps, says the condition of the high-level radioactive waste storage pools at the Fukushima-Daiichi reactors remain dangerous. Another big earthquake could prompt a sudden drain-down of the Unit 4 high-level radioactive waste storage pool.

Kamps also says few lessons from Fukushima have been learned in the U.S. One of the most important being that high density U.S. pools should be emptied into hardened on-site storage as soon as possible. This being before the worst could happen whether due to an earthquake or a potential terrorist attack.

Scientists say that very low levels of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster are now about to reach ocean waters along the US West Coast next month. But it will not be at levels dangerous to humans or wildlife. They are calling for more monitoring as no federal agency currently sample Pacific Coast seawater for radiation.They say unless we have results, how do we know it's safe? It's been three years since the Fukushima disaster and thousands in Japan have called on the government to rid themselves of all their nuclear power, for good.

Kamps said: "The condition of the high-level radioactive waste storage pools at the Fukushima-Daiichi reactors remains perilous. Another big earthquake could prompt a sudden drain-down of the Unit 4 high-level radioactive waste storage pool. The Unit 3 pool may be in even worse shape. ... Few lessons from Fukushima have been learned in the U.S. One of the most important should be that high density U.S. pools are emptied into hardened on-site storage as soon as possible, before the worst happens, whether due to natural disaster or terrorist attack."