Another hiccup? Tropical storm Nepartak forming in east of Japan could impact Tokyo Olympics

After being delayed for a year, the Tokyo Olympics are finally underway but may soon be under a weather threat. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JWTC), a forecasting center in Hawaii operated by the US Navy, Tropical Storm Nepartak in the Philippine Sea, southeast of Japan and just north of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands may affect the ongoing game. 

According to various media reports, the JWTC said that the storm had sustained winds of 40 mph, and could bring winds topping 50 mph to Japan on Monday or Tuesday next week. However, storm stregthening  into a typhoon can not be ruled out and no storm watches or warnings have been issued yet. 

Meanwhile, deending on the intensity of the storm, indoor events could be at risk as well, as a powerful enough storm with strong winds and rain could lead to power outages from downed trees and wires, as well as flash flooding.

Weather is already playing a part in the early events and warm-ups for the Olympics, the extreme Japan heat in particular.  Temperatures in Tokyo were above 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat in Tokyo’s summer months already prompted organizers to move the marathons and race-walking events to the cooler city of Sapporo. The organising nation is also struggling with a surge of COVID cases that lead the government to declare a fourth state of emergecy in the capital earlier this month. 

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