Earlier this week, we learned that a typhoon was headed our way and would probably hit the island during the weekend. As the weekend gets closer, things start to get crazy. When someone mentions the word typhoon here, I swear all hell breaks loose. They say to be prepared for the typhoon, you should have food and water stocked up. You never know how long a typhoon will keep you indoors!
Thursday
An article was posted online that Typhoon Bolaven could be one of the worst storms to hit Okinawa in 13 years! This kind of freaks me out just because it's predicted to be really bad! But at the same time, the housing on base is built to withstand typhoons which makes me feel better. I'm excited to experience my first typhoon!
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| Taken from a Stars and Stripes news article |
1:45AM: Chad texts me that we just went into TCCOR 3, which means destructive winds of 50 knots or greater are possible within 48 hours
8:10AM: I was debating whether to get up and go to the commissary. We had enough food to last us through the storm but I still felt unprepared. I was laying in bed looking at Facebook on my phone when I saw that the Kadena Facebook page posted that the commissary would be open at 8AM (an hour early), I jumped out of bed. I was glad to get to the commissary just to pick up a few things before the mad crowd arrived. When a typhoon comes, people act like they have no food in their house! I feel better now that I bought some more snacky stuff to eat, just in case we lose power.
10:30AM: General Molloy sends a message through Facebook, "This is not just another typhoon."
10:00PM: This picture has been circulating around Facebook. Typhoon Bolaven can be seen from space! Okinawa is the little dot right above it! That's crazy!
Saturday
2:00AM: TCCOR 2 was declared, which means destructive winds of 50 knots or greater are anticipated within 24 hours.
10:00AM: We are in the outer band of Bolaven right now. There is no sign of rain yet and very little wind. Bolaven is expected to have 150 to 185 mph winds and it's nearly 700 miles across! The eye of the storm is 10 miles across! Looks like we have the remainder of the day to be out and about until we're posted up in our house for the next few days!
6:00PM: TCCOR 1 has been declared, which means destructive winds of 50 knots or greater are anticipated within 12 hours. They predict we will go into TCCOR-1 Caution tonight and then TCCOR-1 Emergency at 5AM. The wind has picked up a little bit, but still haven't seen much of anything yet.
Sunday
4:25AM: TCCOR-1C was declared, which means destructive winds of 50 knots or greater are anticipated within 12 hours. Actual winds are 34-49 knots. All nonessential personnel must go home.
7:00AM: I woke up to see how bad it was outside. It was just raining with a little bit of wind. No major weather yet! I guess the worst wind is suppose to come about 3PM today.
12:30PM: Winds have picked up slightly. We keep getting big gusts of winds that last about 30 seconds and then things calm down for a few. Chad and I have our air conditioning on low so that our place stays cool longer if our power were to go out. We're bundled up in hoodies to keep ourselves warm in the mean time!
4:00PM: Winds are getting stronger but still nothing major yet.
8:30PM: Winds continue to get stronger and rain continues to fall. I can tell the storm is picking up a little bit. They are now predicting us to be TCCOR-1 Emergency by 2AM. I want to stay up to watch the storm! So far it seems like the storm was more hype than what it really is. Only time will tell! I'm sad that it's dark out now because it makes it harder to see! Today has just been a relaxing day at home. We have been playing games, putting a puzzle together, and eating!
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9:45PM: No later than after I updated this did we go into TCCOR-1E (so much for 2AM!). The eye of the storm is over us right now. It's windy and rainy outside but from my window, it doesn't look all that bad. I have a feeling it's cause we are kind of down low surrounded by trees and housing. I'll update if things get interesting!
Monday
3:00AM: I woke up to the sound of rain pelting against my window. The wind was blowing hard! I also heard a constant noise that sounded like a plane was flying over; I'm pretty sure it was the strong winds. Finally, we were getting the action of the typhoon! It was hard to see outside with it being dark and water being splashed up against our windows, so I just went back to bed.
8:00AM: We are still in TCCOR 1E, which means no one is allowed outside. Therefore Chad doesn't have to report to work this morning! It is still very windy outside. There are tree branches and leaves scattered throughout the yard. I'm really surprised our little trees made it through the storm; they look like they could snap so easily! If it wasn't for the posts holding these trees up, they'd be goners!
10:40AM: TCCOR 1 Recovery was declared. This means that there are no longer 50 knot winds. Everyone is still suppose to stay in their quarters except emergency crews. The weather is starting to calm down, but it's still windy and wet!
3:15PM: TCCOR Storm Watch was just announced. That means that the typhoon is moving away but the base is still feeling some effects. Everything should be opening up on base within 2 hours! Yay!
4:00PM: Chad and I went to go see the ocean. On our way there it started to down pour, so we decided to stop into a store to wait for the rain to pass. After we killed some time, the rain was still coming down hard. We headed back for the base to hit up the BX. After we came out, the rain had seemed to die down. We decided to go try to see the ocean again. We went to Kadena Marina first and wow the water was so high and rough! Where there usually is a beach, it was just covered with waves. It was crazy! After that we went to the sea wall to see more rough waters. I was hoping to be able to see what had washed up shore, people say there is sea glass and stuff. That would be cool to see! Today we had no such luck seeing any though. The rain keeps coming down pretty hard and the wind makes it worse.
7:00PM: If having to worry about a typhoon wasn't enough, now the Japanese Meterological Agency has issued a Tornado Advisory until 7:40PM. Crazy!
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