TORONTO – Though Typhoon Francisco was downgraded to a tropical storm off the shores of Japan, a super-typhoon continues to churn in the Pacific.
Super-typhoon Lekima doesn’t pose a threat to land, but its sustained winds are howling at 185 km/h with gusts of up to 231 km/h.
Read more: Typhoon Francisco batters Japan islands
Lekima intensified quickly on Tuesday as it crossed over the warm waters of the North Pacific Ocean. Warm waters help to fuel hurricanes and tropical storms (there is no real difference between a hurricane and a typhoon).
By Thursday, Lekima was producing sustained winds of 240 km/h and was expected to hit the Japanese island of To. Fortunately, however, the storm took a turn to the northeast.
The storm will continue to track to the northeast before getting caught in the mid-latitude westerly winds. That, combined with cooler ocean waters, will weaken Lekima over the weekend.
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