Zoomed in view of Super Typhoon Vongfong from the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite on Oct. 9, 2014.

Image: NASA/NOAA

By Andrew Freedman2014-10-09 21:11:04 UTC

Super Typhoon Vongfong, which became the most powerful tropical cyclone of the year earlier this week, has taken a turn to the north, on a course that will take its core of ferocious winds and high waves perilously close to Okinawa and then on toward the mainland Japanese island of Kyushu this weekend. As of 4 p.m. ET, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, making it a Category 4 storm, and just barely meeting the minimum standard to be called a "super" typhoon.

It will likely lose the latter distinction by early Friday morning eastern time.

Satellite imagery shows a well-organized storm, though, with an eye that has varied between 30 to 50 miles wide at times. Vongfong is forecast to pass near or over the island of Okinawa on Saturday as a Category 3 storm, posing a significant threat to U.S. military personnel stationed there. The storm will then move north-northeast, toward making landfall in Kyushu on Sunday afternoon or evening eastern time, most likely as a Category 1 or 2 storm.

Super Typhoon Vongfong as seen from the International Space Station on Oct. 9, 2014.

Image: Reid Wiseman/Twitter

The biggest threat to the mainland of Japan will not come in the form of strong winds, though wind damage is quite likely across southern Japan, Okinawa, and the Ryukyu islands. Instead, the biggest danger will be in the form of water. Typhoon Vongfong will be making landfall just one week after Typhoon Phanfone struck the country, dropping anywhere from six to 20 inches of rain in many areas. Because the ground is so saturated from that storm, the slower-moving Vongfong poses a major flood threat, particularly in Japan's mountainous areas.

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Super Typhoon Vongfong Menaces Okinawa and Mainland Japan