Typhoon Champi Passes South of Jeju This Weekend: Check Flights and Ferries the Night Before
Typhoon No. 30 Champi is due to pass through the sea south of Jeju around Oct. 25. Landfall on the Korean peninsula is unlikely, but rain starts in Jeju on the afternoon of Oct. 23, with wind and high swells joining in at the weekend.
Closest approach: the night of Oct. 25 into Oct. 26
The Korea Meteorological Administration expects Champi to turn toward Kyushu around Oct. 24 and to be closest to Korea on Oct. 25, about 580 km west-southwest of Kagoshima. For Jeju, the closest approach is forecast between the night of Oct. 25 and Oct. 26.
If a typhoon warning is issued for the South Sea, Champi becomes the latest typhoon to affect Korea since records began in 1951. The previous record was Zeb in October 1998.
Rain on Oct. 23-24, wind and swells even earlier
Expected rain for Oct. 23-24 is 30-80 mm across Jeju except the north and west, 10-40 mm in northern and western Jeju, and 5-30 mm in Gwangju/Jeonnam, Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongnam.
Gusts of 55 km/h or more reach Jeju from the afternoon of Oct. 23 and the south coast from Oct. 24; mountains can top 70 km/h. Swells hit the Jeju coast from Oct. 22 and the south coast from Oct. 23, and waves in the open sea south of Jeju climb from 1.5-4.0 m to 5 m or more.
How to plan Oct. 23-26 in Jeju
Check flight status from the night before, not just on the day, through Jeju Airport and your airline. Strong crosswinds raise the odds of delays and cancellations. Ferries and sightseeing boats can be restricted under wind and wave warnings.
Skip coastal walks, fishing and water sports; swells can wash over beaches and breakwaters. On Hallasan and the oreum, expect poor visibility and slippery paths above the mid-mountain zone.
The track can still change
The KMA says that if the subtropical high extends farther west than expected, Champi could weaken over Taiwan and southeast China before reaching Korea as a low. A weakened low can still bring heavy rain, so keep checking the latest forecast.
After the storm, cold air around Oct. 27 is forecast to drop temperatures enough for a possible cold-wave advisory.
Photo credit
Bernard Gagnon (Wikimedia Commons) · CC0Seongsan Ilchulbong in Jeju on an overcast day (taken October 2022; not a photo of the typhoon). Bernard Gagnon, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Photo credit
Bernard Gagnon (Wikimedia Commons) · CC0Seongsan village and the sea seen from Seongsan Ilchulbong (taken October 2022; not a photo of the typhoon). Bernard Gagnon, CC0, Wikimedia Commons