The car falls over!” …Reporter’s frightening experience “Blast Maystorm with a maximum wind speed of 30 meters” A fallen tree crashes through the roof!

Boo ～～～～～～～.

The eerie sound of the wind echoes intermittently, and sideways rain beats against the car windows. We have already been trapped inside the car for 30 minutes. The violent wind and rain never seem to stop. My wife, who was terrified in the passenger seat, screamed.

If we don’t do something, the car will collapse!”

On May 4, while visiting Hachimantai (a 1,600-meter-high mountain range straddling Akita and Iwate prefectures) during the Golden Week vacations, the reporter was hit by a strong wind called a “May storm” caused by a developing low-pressure system. The maximum instantaneous wind speed was nearly 30 meters. It was so strong that he could not stand and a signboard was blown away. He could not easily drive his rental car (a light car) with his wife and his mother-in-law, who was in her 80s, in the car. We parked at a parking area near the top of the mountain and watched the wind for a while, but the fury did not subside, and we were worried that the car, which had been violently shaken sideways, might topple over.

My wife suggested that we move the car and park it closer to the building to get some protection from the wind.

At my wife’s suggestion, we moved the car and took shelter in a lodge attached to the parking lot. Because of the strong wind pressure, he had a hard time closing the door of his light car once it was opened.

The man is in critical condition, unconscious.

Hachimantai was not the only area hit by spring storms that day. The Tokyo Bay Aqualine, which connects Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture, and Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, was closed to traffic because of wind speeds exceeding 20 mph. An outdoor music festival scheduled to be held at Soga Sports Park in Chiba City was hastily canceled.

The Odakyu Line running through Kanagawa Prefecture was suspended in some sections because metal plates measuring approximately 7 meters square, blown down by a storm with a maximum instantaneous wind speed of over 26 meters, were caught in the overhead wires. In the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, a fallen tree caused by a gust of wind broke through the roof of a house and hit a bedroom. Fortunately, no one was injured. In Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture, a man in his 50s was knocked unconscious after his bicycle tipped over and he was hit on the head,” said a reporter for a national newspaper.

The “May Storm” is not a temporary phenomenon. It seems that we must continue to be vigilant. Masamitsu Morita, a weather forecaster, explains.

When warm and cold air collide at the turn of the season, a low-pressure system develops and winds become stronger. Strong winds like this tend to blow during the month of May, when spring turns to summer. If the Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a storm warning, please refrain from going outside as much as possible.

If you encounter a “spring storm” outside, you should immediately take shelter in a sturdy building. Especially when climbing mountains, be sure to check the weather report in advance, and be on the lookout for strong typhoon-like storms during the entire month of May.

It was more than an hour after we took shelter in the parking lot that the blast that this reporter encountered in Hachimantai finally weakened. It was a terrifying experience that made him feel very much in danger.