Despite the fact that Typhoon Neoguri shares a name with a well-known brand of packaged ramen, it certainly is no joking matter, as you can see from the impressive satellite image captured recently. Although the storm has weakened from a Category 4 Super Typhoon, it is still a powerful Category 3 storm currently churning up the East China Sea.

This storm is bad news for Japan, especially the large populations living on the southernmost home island of Kyushu. Forecasters believe Neoguri will continue to weaken rapidly under the influence of increasing wind shear, but it is still set to make landfall on Kyushu some time Thursday as a Category 1 storm. The mountainous terrain of Kyushu will likely provide orographic enhancement for the rain bands coming off of Neoguri (the upslope side of the mountains facing Neoguri’s onslaught will have the tendency of squeezing out precipitation from the rain bands).