07/07/2025
Sexy satellite shot of Typhoon DANAS as it approached Taiwan. According to radar, the center made landfall near the Chiayi County/Tainan City border at about 11:30 pm Sunday. The intense right eyewall pounded Tainan City (pop. ~1.86 million) directly, and several other cities and towns got raked as the core swept up Taiwan's populated W coast. Wind reports from reliable, official stations were impressive, with Yulin County reporting a gust to a severe 120 knots (138 mph/222 km/h). The Taiwanese build stuff pretty solid, so hopefully the damage isn't too heavy.
No, I did not chase this. The truth is, I just didn't see this situation coming. The computer models mostly kept DANAS weak *and* offshore. The landfall of a strong typhoon on Taiwan's W coast was not in the cards. Too bad, because I love Taiwan and love chasing there. Last year alone, I had two awesome chases on that island: KRATHON and KONG-REY.
