The eye of Typhoon Noru reached the southern coast of Kyushu near Uchinoura on Saturday.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday the center of of Typhoon Noru was located at latitude 31.0°N and longitude 131.2°E which put it about 65 miles (105 km) south-southwest of Miyazaki, Japan.  Noru was moving toward the northeast at 8 m.p.h. (13 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 90 m.p.h. (145 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 970 mb.

Typhoon Noru weakened as it made a slow clockwise loop on Saturday.  The winds of the typhoon may have mixed cooler water to the surface of the ocean.  Typhoon Noru also appears to be drawing cooler, drier air into the northern half of the circulation.  There is still an eye at the center of Noru, but the strong thunderstorms are all in the southern half of the circulation.  The strongest winds are occurring in the thunderstorms at the southern edge of the eye.  There are several bands of showers and thunderstorms outside the core of Typhoon Noru.

Typhoon Noru is moving over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 29°C.  So, there is sufficient energy to support the circulation of a typhoon.  However, drier air in the northern half of the circulation is reducing the amount of energy that is reaching the core of the typhoon.  An upper level trough is approaching Typhoon Noru from the west and the vertical wind shear will increase when the trough gets closer to the typhoon.  Typhoon Noru could maintain its intensity for another 12 to 18 hours, but eventually the combination of drier air, more vertical shear and interaction with land will cause Noru to weaken.

Typhoon Noru was in an area where the steering currents were weak and it made a slow, tight clockwise loop on Saturday.  The upper level trough approaching from the west will start to steer Typhoon Noru toward the northeast.  Noru will move along the south coast of Kyushu.  On its anticipated path the center of Typhoon Noru could be near Kochi on the south coast of Shikoku in about 24 hours.  Noru could be near Osaka and Kyoto on Honshu in about 36 hours.

Typhoon Noru has the potential to bring strong winds, heavy rain and the potential for floods to southern Kyushu, Shikoku and parts of Honshu.