what is Typhoon

k-12: a grade 8 integrated science
unit 2 - earth and Space....

1. UNDERSTANDING TYPHOONS module 2 Overview Every year the Philippines is hit by typhoons. No part of the country is spared. All provinces have been visited by a typhoon at one time or another. In recent years, the Philippines had been overwhelmed by powerful tropical cyclones.

2. Who could forget the terrible flood brought by Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009? Or the people swept out to sea during Tropical Storm Sendong in 2011? Or the poor community of New Bataan buried in mud spawned by Typhoon Pablo in 2012? According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration ( PAGASA ), about 20 tropical cyclones enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility each year. We have to be knowledgeable about tropical cyclones if we want to prevent the loss of more lives.

3. What is typhoon?

4. Typhoon tropical storm: a violent tropical storm in the western Pacific and Indian oceans . are known as tropical cyclones, which is the general name for all such storms including hurricanes and typhoons. Hurricane,   name given to violent storms that originate over the tropical or subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or North Pacific Ocean east of the International Date Line. Such storms over the North Pacific west of the International Date Line are called typhoons .

5. We all know what a typhoon is. Or more accurately, we know what to expect when a typhoon comes. We get a lot of rain and strong winds. Now, you may not have noticed it but the winds in a typhoon move in a certain direction. They go around a central area.

6. Figure 1. A super typhoon as seen from high above the Earth; at the center is the “eye” of the super typhoon. Image by NASA Earth O bservatory

7. Table 1 . Tropical Cyclone Categories Category Maximum Wind Speed kilometers per hour ( kph Tropical Depression 64 Tropical Storm 118 Typhoon 200 Super typhoon greater than 200

8. If the wind speed is less, from 119 to 200 kph , then it is called a typhoon. If the wind speed is between 65 and 118 kph , it is called a tropical storm. And when the wind speed is between 35 to 64 kph , it is a tropical depression. Tropical depression, tropical storm, typhoon, and super typhoon are categories of tropical cyclones (Table 1). In simple terms, a tropical cyclone is a system of thunderstorms that are moving around a center. As the winds intensify or weaken, the category is upgraded or downgraded accordingly. In a super typhoon, the wind speed is greater than 200 kilometers per hour ( kph ).

9. The term typhoon is used only in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. In the northeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, the equivalent term is hurricane. Thus, a hurricane on one side of the Pacific Ocean will be called a typhoon if it crosses into the other side. In the Philippines, we use the same word for all categories of tropical cyclones. We call it bagyo whether it is a tropical depression, a tropical storm or a typhoon.

10. Demo