A rapidly growing low-pressure system brought typhoon-class winds to the Japanese archipelago from Saturday night to Sunday morning, causing blackouts, stranding ships and paralyzing some air and land traffic.
In Tokyo, winds of 144 kph -- the strongest ever observed in the capital -- were recorded early Sunday morning. Elsewhere in the metropolitan area, winds reached 172 kph in Chiba and 150 kph in Yokohama.
Tokyoites later observed another meteorological landmark -- the warmest December temperature ever -- as warm southwesterly winds that followed the gales sent the mercury to 24.8 shortly before noon, a temperature usually observed in late September.