Typhoon

A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops in the western part of the North Pacific
Ocean between 180 and 100E. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin,[1] and is
the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for almost one-third of the world's annual
tropical cyclones. For organizational purposes, the northern Pacific Ocean is divided into three regions:
the eastern (North America to 140W), central (140 to 180W), and western (180 to 100E).
The Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for tropical cyclone forecasts is in Japan,
with other tropical cyclone warning centers for the northwest Pacific in Hawaii (the Joint Typhoon
Warning Center), the Philippines and Hong Kong. While the RSMC names each system, the main
name list itself is coordinated among 18 countries that have territories threatened by typhoons each
year. Only the Philippines use their own naming list for systems approaching the country.
A typhoon differs from a cyclone or hurricane only on the basis of location.[2] A hurricane is a storm that
occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern
Pacific Ocean, and a cyclone occurs in the south Pacific or Indian Ocean.[2]
Within the northwestern Pacific there are no official typhoon seasons as tropical cyclones form
throughout the year. Like any tropical cyclone, there are six main requirements for typhoon formation
and development: sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures, atmospheric instability,
high humidity in the lower to middle levels of the troposphere, enough Coriolis force to develop a low
pressure center, a pre-existing low level focus or disturbance, and low vertical wind shear. While the
majority of storms form between June and November, a few storms do occur between December and
May (although tropical cyclone formation is at a minimum during that time). On average, the
northwestern Pacific features the most numerous and intense tropical cyclones globally. Like other
basins, they are steered by the subtropical ridge towards the west or northwest, with some systems
recurving near and east of Japan. The Philippines receive the brunt of the landfalls, with China and
Japan being impacted slightly less. Some of the deadliest typhoons in history have struck China.
Southern China has the longest record of typhoon impacts for the region, with a thousand-year sample
via documents within their archives. Taiwan has received the wettest known typhoon on record for the
northwest Pacific tropical cyclone basins.

Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is a large scale air mass that rotates around a strong center of
low atmospheric pressure.[1][2]Cyclones are characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate about a
zone of low pressure.[3][4] The largest low-pressure systems are polar vortices and extratropical
cyclones of the largest scale (the synoptic scale). Warm-core cyclones such as tropical
cyclones and subtropical cyclones also lie within the synoptic
scale.[5] Mesocyclones, tornadoes and dust devils lie within the smaller mesoscale.[6] Upper level
cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low, and can pinch off from the base of the tropical
upper tropospheric trough during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Cyclones have
also been seen on extraterrestrial planets, such as Mars and Neptune.[7][8] Cyclogenesis describes the
process of cyclone formation and intensification.[9] Extratropical cyclones begin as waves in large
regions of enhanced mid-latitude temperature contrasts called baroclinic zones. These zones contract
and form weather fronts as the cyclonic circulation closes and intensifies. Later in their life cycle,
extratropical cyclones occlude as cold air masses undercut the warmer air and become cold core
systems. A cyclone's track is guided over the course of its 2 to 6 day life cycle by the steering flow of
the subtropical jet stream.
Weather fronts mark the boundary between two masses of air of different temperature, humidity,
and densities, and are associated with the most prominent meteorological phenomena. Strong cold
fronts typically feature narrow bands of thunderstorms and severe weather, and may on occasion be
preceded by squall lines or dry lines. Such fronts form west of the circulation center and generally
move from west to east; warm fronts form east of the cyclone center and are usually preceded
by stratiform precipitation and fog. Warm fronts move poleward ahead of the cyclone path. Occluded
fronts form late in the cyclone life cycle near the center of the cyclone and often wrap around the storm
center.
Tropical cyclogenesis describes the process of development of tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones
form due to latent heat driven by significant thunderstorm activity, and are warm core.[10] Cyclones can
transition between extratropical, subtropical, and tropical phases. Mesocyclones form as warm core
cyclones over land, and can lead to tornado formation.[11]Waterspouts can also form from
mesocyclones, but more often develop from environments of high instability and low vertical wind
shear.[12] In the Atlantic and the northeastern Pacific oceans, a tropical cyclone is generally referred to
as a hurricane (from the name of the ancient Central American deity of wind, Huracan), in the Indian
and south Pacific oceans it is called a cyclone, and in the northwestern Pacific it is called a typhoon.

Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a
closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that
produce heavy rain. Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by different
names, including hurricane (/hrkn, -ken/),[1][2][3] typhoon (/tafun/), tropical storm, cyclonic
storm, tropical depression, and simply cyclone.[4] A hurricane is a tropical cyclone that occurs in
the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific
Ocean, and a cyclone occurs in the south Pacific or Indian Ocean.[4]
Tropical cyclones typically form over large bodies of relatively warm water. They derive their energy
through the evaporation of water from the ocean surface, which
ultimately recondenses into clouds and rain when moist air rises and cools to saturation. This energy
source differs from that of mid-latitude cyclonic storms, such as nor'easters and European
windstorms, which are fueled primarily by horizontal temperature contrasts. The strong rotating winds
of a tropical cyclone are a result of the conservation of angular momentum imparted by
the Earth's rotation as air flows inwards toward the axis of rotation. As a result, they rarely form within
5 of the equator.[5] Tropical cyclones are typically between 100 and 2,000 km (62 and 1,243 mi) in
diameter. They are far less common south of the Equator, mainly because the African easterly jet,
warmer waters, and areas of atmospheric instability, which gives rise to cyclones in the Atlantic ocean
and Americas, occur in the Northern hemisphere, and because vertical wind shear is much stronger
south of the equator, which typically prevents tropical depressions and potential storms from
developing into cyclones.
Tropical refers to the geographical origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively
over tropical seas. Cyclone refers to their winds moving in a circle,[6] whirling round their central
clear eye, with their winds blowing counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphereand blowing
clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The opposite direction of circulation is due to the Coriolis
effect.
Coastal regions are particularly vulnerable to the impact of a tropical cyclone, compared to inland
regions. The primary energy source for these storms is warm ocean waters, therefore these forms are
typically strongest when over or near water, and weaken quite rapidly over land. Coastal damage may
be caused by strong winds and rain, high waves (due to winds), storm surges (due to severe pressure
changes), and the potential of spawning tornadoes. Tropical cyclones also draw in air from a large
areawhich can be a vast area for the most severe cyclonesand concentrate the precipitation of
the water content in that air (made up from atmospheric moisture and moisture evaporated from water)
into a much smaller area. This continual replacement of moisture-bearing air by new moisture-bearing
air after its moisture has fallen as rain, may cause extremely heavy rain and river flooding up to 40
kilometres (25 mi) from the coastline, far beyond the amount of water that the local atmosphere holds
at any one time.
Though their effects on human populations are often devastating, tropical cyclones can
relieve drought conditions. They also carry heat energy away from the tropics and transport it
toward temperate latitudes, which may play an important role in modulating regional and
global climate.