Okinawa Weather on 23rd July
☔️ Haisai! I’m CULT.
Today in Okinawa, the weather was characterised by a very pronounced squall climate. The morning started with a beautifully clear and blue sky, making it feel like a day when sparrows would need to be very diligent in securing their nests. However, as the afternoon progressed, there was a pattern of showers followed by clear weather. The temperature ranged from a high of 31°C to a low of 27°C, making it an average summer day. The strong winds made the heat feel less intense compared to last week.
A Day’s Weather Video in a Squall Climate
You can roughly guess today’s weather and wind conditions using your smartphone.
A low-pressure system that was supposed to develop into Francisco dissipated, and a new low-pressure system was born. Perhaps because it eventually developed into Francisco, there was a cooler breeze blowing more than usual that day.
Miebashi and the International Street Area
This is the view of Naha Municipal Elementary School.
Although it rained earlier in the morning under the clear sky, traces of it remain on the playground ground. As you can hear in the video, the sound of cicadas around here is very loud and vibrant. It truly signifies that summer has arrived.
This morning, water has been continuously released into the Miebashi River. This also means that a lot of rain is expected in the coming days. The riverbed isn’t visible yet, but if the Miebashi River becomes so dry that the bottom is visible, it means a significant amount of rain will fall that day or the next. The water level has dropped by about 50cm, suggesting that a moderate amount of rain is expected rather than a heavy downpour.
Today, due to circumstances, I can’t ride my bicycle, so I’m walking to pick up a rental car. When you drive around in a car, there are things you simply can’t see, but on a bicycle, you can see much more. And even more detailed than that is walking, where you can directly see and feel everything. I’m delighted to discover new things today that I didn’t know before.
This is the scene on Kokusai Street in the morning. Wednesdays are usually the days with the fewest tourists, and being morning, there were even fewer people around.
The shops at Makishi Market haven’t opened yet. It’s around 9 a.m. at this time, you see. They usually open around 11 a.m.
Umikaji Terrace
This is Umikaji Terrace. I came to take photos of rental cars, but it’s raining.
It’s quite typical of Okinawa’s unique climate to have rain under a blue sky due to its squall-like weather. Okinawa is where the tropical low pressure from Southeast Asia meets the North Pacific high pressure, so it’s common to experience showers under clear skies.
The Umikaji Terrace hasn’t opened yet. I quickly take some weather photos and videos, and hurriedly finish shooting the rental car. It seems like it might rain more frequently tomorrow, so I need to wrap things up in advance. By the way, I have two Okinawa snap shoots booked for tomorrow, so I’m a bit worried. I hope it doesn’t rain.
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This is Naha Airport as seen from Umikaji Terrace. The structure stretching across the horizon is the runway of Naha Airport. Nearby, there are people enjoying marine sports. Even at that time, the wind was quite strong, but there’s no need to worry about being swept away as there are massive breakwaters here. However, with winds like this, most snorkelling and marine activities are usually cancelled. It’s not that the activity providers don’t want to operate; if they don’t cancel, they might face fines or, in severe cases, a suspension of operations.
Afternoons with Distinct Squall Weather
In the afternoon, it frequently alternated between rain and clear skies.
From the photos, it might look like it rained heavily, but the wind was actually stronger than the rain. For about 20 minutes, strong winds and a light drizzle swept through, and then the sky quickly turned blue again. This cycle repeated throughout the afternoon.
Around five in the afternoon, the blue sky disappeared, and it became overcast with a constant drizzle. Occasionally, the wind blew strongly, and the rain briefly intensified. Well, it’s characteristic of Okinawa’s squall-like climate, so I’m used to it by now.
Regardless, today I am ending my day with Okinawa zenzai. If you visit Okinawa, you must try zenzai. I have zenzai once a day. The best place for zenzai in Okinawa is a shop called Fujiya.
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Okinawa Weather Forecast
Typhoon Francisco, the 7th typhoon, has finally formed. It initially dissipated as a tropical depression but has re-emerged as a typhoon. It’s expected to be one of the weakest typhoons, and although it is predicted to narrowly miss Okinawa, it will still have some impact. The squall-like weather will become even more pronounced. What this means is that while today’s weather is mostly clear with blue skies, once the typhoon’s influence begins tomorrow, the proportion of blue skies will decrease and the likelihood of rain will increase. It doesn’t seem like it will rain all day long.
The wind is expected to be strong, so marine sports… well, they will likely cancel the reservations for you. [Source: Weather News Japan]
Additionally, another tropical depression is developing, and it is said that this depression also has the potential to develop into a typhoon. It hasn’t developed into a typhoon yet, but if it does, it seems it will directly affect Okinawa. However, there is a North Pacific high-pressure system along the path of this depression, so we need to take a closer look tomorrow. [Source: Weathernews Japan]
That’s all for today. I’ll wrap it up here and return tomorrow with more weather updates from Okinawa. Matayasai 👋
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