Localized strong winds associated with extensive fires in central Tokyo: Cases of the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923) and an air attack in World War II (1945)

Localized strong winds were observed in the Central Meteorological Observatory (CMO) in Tokyo under big fires after the Great Kanto Earthquake in September 1923. As the CMO buildings were threatened and caught by fire, wind speed exceeded 15 m/s under high temperature reaching 40 °C, while temperature remained below 30 °C and wind speed was less than 5 m/s at a site distant from fires. Strong winds were also observed in extensive fires due to an air attack in World War II in May 1945. This article outlines the meteorological facts in the two cases as examples of fire-induced strong winds.