PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii, powerful Typhoon Podul, packing winds of 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour, was slowly heading northwestward in the direction of Japan on Wednesday, the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported. Extremely violent gusts of more than 300 kilometers are expected. However, so far Typhoon Podul was moving very slow and it might not get close to any larger land-masses at all, but it is definately wise to keep a good eye on it.

Podul was churning the seas into waves nine meters (30 feet) high in the Pacific Ocean, some 1,015 kilometers (630 miles) south-southwest of the US Wake Island. The typhoon was heading northwestward at 11 kilometers (seven miles) per hour, the Pearl Harbor-based warning center said in a statement.