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Japan typically suffers 2.6 typhoons per year. The record was 6 in one season. Typhoon Tokage is the tenth typhoon with winds exceeding 220 KPH (about 140 MPH) and killing almost 80 people. It struck Japan in the south east coast and weakened just as it hit Tokyo. However the eleventh typhoon, Typhoon Nock-ten is on the same track, approaching the Philippines and promises to be just as strong.
One of the factors predicted by global warming models are typhoons and hurricanes that become more powerful. This year's unusual high number of storms corresponds to higher than normal ocean temperatures. Storms that normally would not amount to much instead become destructive storms. Historical data suggests this trend should continue.
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