Typhoons


Typhoons are powerful storms that occur at the Northern pacific basin. It is given such a name because of its location. In other areas, the same storm is referred to as hurricane or cyclone. There are a number of requirements for them to form. These include atmospheric instability, warm sea surface temperatures, low level disturbance, high humidity in some parts of the ocean, and low pressure center. Such conditions are only present at specific times of the year. If not predicted early enough, the typhoons are capable of wrecking havoc in many places.

A storm should reach at least 119 kilometers per hours for it to be classified as a typhoon or a hurricane. The strongest of the storms can even go beyond 150 kilometers per hour. The hurricane eye can stretch for approximately 120 miles. Such a storm can ruin the infrastructure around the low elevation coastal areas. This is mainly due to landfall around the ocean, which will in turn cause a lot of damage to the infrastructure. Worst of all, it can kill people especially if they are not warned to evacuate their places of residence.

Dangers of the Unpredictable Typhoons

One of the biggest challenges about preparing for storms is lack of predictability. Scientists use specific computer models and satellites to do the predictions. Nonetheless, there are situations where storms have become very difficult to predict. Due to the changing weather patterns, they may occur at any time of the year. Normally, the northeastern pacific typhoons may occur in the month of June to November. The northwestern one occurs from April to November. However, as it was experienced during the hurricane sandy, the storms can occur at any time of the year and can take unpredicted paths.

Possibility of Ruining the Lives of Many

One of the most active typhoon seasons was in 1964 when 39 storms formed at different times of the year. Typhoon Nina of 1975 killed approximately 100,000 people in China. After heavy rainfall, flooding was reported. Many reservoirs failed and thus killing many people in the country. Such occurrences only indicate that typhoons and other storms can be dangerous if not well monitored. The national meteorological and hydrological departments must, therefore, be keen to monitor some of the existing typhoon’s patterns. Special equipments should be acquired and better communication done to ensure that havoc is completely minimized. Indeed, typhoons should be monitored and predicted early.