Typhoon Lorna was a strong Category 3 typhoon that severely impacted some areas of

Honshu Island , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

, especially

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

and

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while also causing damages across the

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. The second typhoon to hit

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

after

Typhoon June The name June has been used for one tropical cyclone in the CentralPacificOcean and seven tropical cyclones in the WesternPacificOcean. In the CentralPacific: * Tropical Storm June (1972) – brought gusty breezes and some rain to Johnston ...

in September, it is the eleventh system to be monitored by the FWC (now-

Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...

) during the

1954 Pacific typhoon season The 1954 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1954, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year wh ...

. The storm was first tracked by the JMA on September 10, before the FWC followed suit on the next day. After intensifying into a tropical storm by the latter time, it struggled to strengthen further until it intensified into a modern-day Category 1 typhoon on the

Saffir–Simpson scale The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) is a tropical cyclone intensity scale that classifies hurricanes—which in the Western Hemisphere are tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical sto ...

. It then passed just north of the Marianas around September 13, before turning northwestwards on the next day. It then continued to strengthen into a Category 2 typhoon at the morning of September 15 before becoming a Category 3 system on the afternoon of that day. It remained in this strength before it degraded below that status around the next day. On September 17, Lorna was seized by a frontal system, forcing it to move north-northeastwards and make landfall over the

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on the next day. Its eye reportedly passed through

at that day. It then rapidly degenerated into an extratropical system as it pulled away from

, being last monitored by the JMA on September 22. By September 17, meteorologists of

first noticed the threat of Lorna, alerting Tokyo about tropical-storm force winds as Lorna travels towards the country. Many boats and vessels were also warned about the weakening storm, with some of them being asked to leave the harbours. Some of this marine vessels were also advised about the storm via radio equipment. Six houses were pounded by Lorna on Saipan Island, while many establishments there sustained damages. No deaths were registered there. As the typhoon impacted Japan, it caused flooding that left minor damages in Tokyo Bay. Many farmlands were inundated by the typhoon's rainfall, as well as houses. Several highways, railways and public bridges were destroyed while many marine vessels also sank. Two American ships were also caught up with the storm. First estimates of damages were over tens of millions of dollars. Overall, over 422 households and 126 boats sustained damages while over 43,000 were flooded. 34 Japanese were killed by Lorna while 20 were confirmed to have been missing. Along with June, the typhoon incurred over $300 million worth of damages.

Meteorological history

Lorna was first tracked by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) as a system at 06:00 UTC of September 10, northeast of

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. Early the next day, the Fleet Weather Central (FWC) started to monitor the storm's progress, indicating that it intensified into a minimal tropical storm at this time while traveling westwards. Only brief strengthening happened as now-Lorna inclined west-southwestwards and north-northwestwards by September 12 before intensifying into a modern-day Category 1 typhoon by 18:00 UTC of the next day as it dived southwestwards. The typhoon also started to threaten the northern Mariana Islands at this time. However, it took a westward movement, passing just to the territory's north while maintaining its strength of . After bypassing the islands, around the afternoon of September 14 it turned north-northwestwards before intensifying further into a Category 2 storm around September 15 at 06:00 UTC and into a Category 3 major typhoon six hours later. Lorna then peaked with winds of and a central estimated pressure of . Maintaining its intensity as it continued to move just west of the

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, it started to weaken at 06:00 UTC of September 16, being downgraded into a Category 2 typhoon; however its central pressure remained at its initial peak estimate. On the same time on the next day, Lorna further weakened into a high-end Category 1 storm as it again inclined near north-northwestwards. Around September 17, Lorna was captured by a frontal system of an extratropical cyclone that was situated over present-day

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; this caused the system to move north-northeastwards, passing to the south-southeast of the Japanese island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

before making landfall over the

Bōsō Peninsula The is a peninsula that encompasses the entirety of Chiba Prefecture on Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula covers ...

around September 18. Shortly after Lorna hit land, the weathermen of the United States noted that the typhoon is already becoming an extratropical low as it moved again over the Pacific Ocean. It then moved northeastwards until the FWC stopped tracking the system around 12:00 UTC of September 19; the JMA continued monitoring Lorna until on September 22.

Effects

Six households on

Saipan Island Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Census Bureau, the population of Saipa ...

were wrecked by the storm there. It also damaged some buildings managed by the United States Base there. However, no deaths were reported there. Starting on September 17, Japanese weathermen forecasted Lorna to slam the island of

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

, after it briefly threatened Kyushu and Okinawa. These areas were earlier impacted by

in the season. Japan's capital

, were also warned about the storm's possible gale-force winds striking the area. Reports from

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indicated that all ships and vessels were already warned about the approaching storm by that day, being instructed by port managing individuals there to leave the harbors at

, while some were informed via radio about Lorna. Individuals over USS General M. M. Patrick and

USS Admiral W. S. Benson USS ''Admiral W. S. Benson'' (AP-120) began as an unnamed transport, AP-120, that was laid down on 10 December 1942 at Alameda, California by the Bethlehem-Alameda Shipbuilding Corp., under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 678). She was na ...

were also reported to have been “riding out” the storm.
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Heavy rains first lashed the southern portions of Japan as Lorna turned northwestwards upon hitting land. By September 17, the area of Tokyo Bay were reported to have been flooded, but it receded by the next day. Only minor damages were caused there. Winds of were registered over Yokohama as the

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of the typhoon passed there over the midnight of September 18. Tokyo also experienced the brunt of the system. The

Japanese National Police The is the central coordinating law enforcement agency of the Japanese police system. Unlike national police in other countries, the NPA does not have any operational units of its own aside from the Imperial Guard; rather, it is responsible f ...

first recorded a death toll of 13 and 10 missing, along with over 30 suffering different types of injuries. Many houses across the affected portion of the country were also inundated by Lorna's rainfall, along with rice crops and lands. 16 small vessels also sunk on the onslaught of the storm, along with 33 sustaining damages. Many public roadways, bridges and rail tracks were also washed out by the subsequent flooding. However, on the military bases of the United States Forces, no damages were sustained due to Lorna.
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By the next day, the casualty toll rose to 27 on Honshu, and 8 were reportedly missing. First damage estimates also rain in "tens of millions of dollars" in the country. On September 21, Lorna's death count further rose to 34 and 20 were to be unaccounted for. Almost 300 households and of cropland were also damaged. This number was finally materialized by the Japan Meteorological Agency in its disaster report about the storm, adding that 422 homes were damages and 43,762 of them were flooded. 126 marine vessels also received damages from Lorna, along with of farmland. Along with the earlier

, Lorna caused over $300 million in damages.

References

External links

*{{Digital Typhoon, 195414, LORNA Typhoons in Japan 1954 Pacific typhoon season

Meteorological history

Effects

See also

References

External links