Typhoon Faxai hit with incredible force in the middle of the night; it was likely the strongest storm I’ve ever experienced. I spent the whole night worrying that the window glass might shatter. The power went out for about a minute at one point, but fortunately, it came back on quickly. With the JR lines suspended entirely, I worked from home this morning. Before starting work, here is a quick summary of the airport weather conditions.

First, an introduction to the typhoon, from the text on China Weather Enthusiasts’ Weibo:

#TyphoonFaxai# [Major Typhoon Warning for Japan's Kanto Region] At 23:00 Japan Time, the center of Typhoon Faxai has locked onto Sagami Bay south of Tokyo, and is about to make landfall around the early morning of the 9th, rapidly crossing the heart of Tokyo. The intensity at landfall is comparable to last year's Typhoon Jebi, which devastated Osaka.

Faxai is different from past typhoons affecting Tokyo; its track is extremely tricky, with its center squarely slipping into Sagami Bay. This means Tokyo will face a direct hit from Faxai’s strongest core region!

Looking back at history, only one typhoon has made landfall in Sagami Bay directly, and that was in the distant September of 1938. That typhoon set historical records for maximum wind speed in both Tokyo and Yokohama (sustained force 11, gusts force 15), and this Typhoon Faxai may be even stronger than the 1938 typhoon. Tokyo, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Chiba prefectures are expected to experience violent storms and rain approaching or even breaking historical records.

We alert Chinese friends in the Kanto region of Japan to take precautions against this historic violent storm and rain in the early hours of September 9!

A weather radar map from Twitter, click to see its movement path.

昨日14時30分から今日02時30分まで12時間のレーダー画像と02時のアメダス風向・風速を10秒アニメ化。
昨日発表のGSMモデル・MSMモデル より東寄りを北上。
当初（昨日03時発表）の米軍進路予想に近い？
東京湾の気圧が下降するとともに京浜地区の港湾に吹き寄せる風雨が強まっている状態。高潮も視野？ pic.twitter.com/TfswfGJC9k

— 気象予報士Kasayan 番外編！ (@kasayan77) September 8, 2019

Let’s look at the weather at Haneda Airport (RJTT).

RJTT 081700Z 08040G57KT 1000 R34L/1900N R22/1100VP2000U R34R/0800VP2000D R05/1100V1600D +SHRA FG FEW005 BKN010 BKN015 27/26 Q0992 TEMPO 08065G85KT FEW005 BKN008 RMK 1ST005 5ST010 7CU015 A2932 P/FR RI++ RJTT 081750Z 07056G76KT 0800 R34L/1000V1600U R22/0550V0800U R34R/0400V0700U R05/0600V0900N SHRA BR FEW003 BKN008 BKN012 26/26 Q0980 RMK 1ST003 5ST008 7CU012 A2896 P/FR RJTT 081847Z 06047G62KT 0200 R34L///// R22/0175V0500U R34R/0300V0550N R05/M0050V1400U +SHRA BR FEW001 BKN003 BKN005 26/26 Q0965 RMK 1ST001 5ST003 7ST005 A2851 P/FR RI++ RJTT 081902Z 01052G77KT 0400 R34L///// R22/0375N R34R/0250V0650N R05/M0050V1600D +SHRA BR SQ FEW001 BKN003 BKN005 26/26 Q0967 RMK 1ST001 5ST003 5ST005 A2858 RI++ RJTT 081916Z 33056G77KT 0700 R34L///// R22/0400V1000U R34R/0325V0800U R05/M0050V1300N +SHRA BR FEW003 BKN007 BKN010 26/26 Q0972 RMK 1ST003 5ST007 7CU010 A2873 P/RR RI++

Looking at the numbers, the maximum wind speed hasn't reached the 99 knots of Typhoon Jebi at Osaka Kansai Airport last year. Fortunately.

The China Weather Enthusiasts’ Weibo posted above (around 2:30 AM):

#TyphoonFaxai# [Haneda Airport Wind Speed Breaks Record] Affected by Faxai's eyewall, Tokyo Haneda Airport measured sustained winds of 32.1 m/s and gusts of 42.7 m/s, breaking both historical records.

Let’s look at the NOTAMs; wind indicators, navigation lights, and radio equipment are failing constantly.

3393⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 22:47 TO 19/09/09 21:00 E)WDI-LGT RWY 34R THR SIDE-U/S DUE TO TROUBLE 3392⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 22:31 TO 19/09/14 07:00 E)OBST LGT ON CHIMNEY-U/S DUE TO TROUBLE PSN : 352849.0N1394122.0E (YOKOHAMA-SHI IN KANAGAWA) F)SFC G)439FT AMSL 3391⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 21:58 TO 19/09/09 03:00EST E)WIND DIRECTION AND SPEED DATA FOR RWY 16L THR SIDE NOT PROVIDED DUE TO TROUBLE 3388⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 21:42 TO 19/09/09 21:00 E)APCH-LGT-BCN(685M FM RWY 16R THR) FOR RWY 16R-U/S DUE TO TROUBLE 3387⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 21:39 TO 19/09/09 21:00 E)APCH-LGT-BCN(543M AND 892M FM RWY 16L THR) FOR RWY 16L-U/S DUE TO TROUBLE 3385⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 21:29 TO 19/09/09 21:00 E)RWY-THR-ID-LGT FOR RWY 16L-U/S DUE TO TROUBLE 3384⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 21:29 TO 19/09/09 21:00 E)CGL FOR RWY 16L-U/S DUE TO TROUBLE 3383⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 21:27 TO 19/09/09 21:00 E)WDI-LGT RWY 16L THR SIDE-U/S DUE TO TROUBLE 3377⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 20:13 TO 19/09/09 03:00EST E)RVR DATA RWY 16L THR SIDE NOT PROVIDED DUE TO TROUBLE 3376⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 20:00 TO 19/09/09 03:00EST E)LDA-LOC,DME FOR RWY 23-U/S DUE TO TYPH RMK/LDA:LOCALIZER TYPE DIRECTIONAL AIDS 3375⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 20:00 TO 19/09/09 03:00EST E)ILS-LOC,GP FOR RWY 34R-U/S DUE TO TYPH 3373⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 18:58 TO 19/09/09 03:00EST E)RVR DATA RWY 34L THR SIDE NOT PROVIDED DUE TO TROUBLE 3369⁄19 FROM 19/09/08 18:41 TO 19/09/09 21:00 E)CGL FOR RWY 16R-U/S DUE TO TROUBLE

The wind has died down a lot now, but gusts are still having a significant impact on flights. For example, checking flight NH206 on flightradar24, It safely landed at Haneda Airport around 7:00 AM after experiencing two go-arounds.

需要ありそうなのでゴーアラ（二回目）もあげときますね。見てわかるとおり、とても穏やかなゴーアラでした。 pic.twitter.com/FYbl0ELaTA

— うさだ。 (@shghr666) September 9, 2019

Additionally, due to the railway suspension, even those who managed to disembark will be stranded at the airport for several hours if they need to take the train.