Typhoon Halong skirted Japan this week and will begin a trek across the Pacific Ocean toward the Pacific Northwest.

Typhoon Nakri spent the weekend bringing impacts to Japan’s east coast, a region often marking the final landfall for typhoons. However, Nakri is poised to recurve in the North Pacific, setting its sights on North America this week.

One person was dead and two missing in western Alaska after the remnants of Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds and ravaging storm surges and floodwaters to the region.

Typhoon Halong was an unusual storm, likely fueled by the Pacific’s near-record warm surface temperatures this fall. Its timing means recovery will be even more difficult than usual for these hard-hit communities, as Alaska meteorologist Rick Thoman of the University Alaska Fairbanks explains.