Nuri strengthened to a super typhoon after picking up in wind speed Sunday.

The storm, centered in the west Pacific Ocean, was headed toward the Philippines, but a front moving through the East China Sea altered its direction more northward.

Nuri is now headed toward Japan, though it is not expected to directly hit the island nation.

Both the Philippines and Japan will likely see a few showers and thunderstorms throughout the week as Nuri passes by.

Super Typhoon Nuri will likely pass by Japan and into the open Pacific Ocean by next weekend.

The storm has maximum sustained winds of 178 mph and gusts of up to 218 mph.

Vance becomes hurricane in Pacific Ocean
Miami (AFP) Nov 02, 2014 - A powerful storm in the eastern Pacific strengthened to hurricane status on Sunday, but it remains far away from land, US forecasters said.

Vance was packing maximum sustained winds of 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour as the storm swirled some 535 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

"Additional strengthening is expected during the next day or so, but a weakening trend is likely to begin by late Monday," the NHC said in its 1500 GMT bulletin, noting there were no hazards currently forecast on land.

Vance is the 20th named storm in the Pacific of the season which ends in November.

Hurricane Odile killed six people and caused millions in damages when it hit Mexico's Baja California peninsula in September.