Jul 18, 2018

As of Wednesday evening, EDT, Tropical Storm Ampil is centered about 500 miles south-southeast of Naha, Okinawa, Japan, drifting slowly to the northeast. Ampil has top sustained winds of 40 mph.

Ampil, steered by strong upper-level high pressure near Korea and Japan, is forecast to take on a northwesterly heading over the next 24-48 hours, strengthening significantly before tracking near Okinawa by early on Saturday, local time. Ampil could gain typhoon status by the time it enters the East China Sea.

Continuing towards the northwest, Ampil should make landfall on the China mainland south of Shanghai Saturday night or Sunday, local time.

Also, Tropical Storm Son-tinh has made landfall near Vinh, Vietnam, and is tracking inland over increasingly rugged landscape. While weakeing, Son-tinh will continue to pose a flooding rain threat as to crosses the northern Annam Cordillera over the next 12-24 hours.

By AccuWeather Meteorologist Jim Andrews