Philippines Reeling From Rare Christmas Typhoon

Typhoon Nock-Ten approaching the Philippines early
on Christmas Day with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph

As much of the northern half of the United States was being buffeted by strong winds during the Christmas holiday, a much more serious tempest hit the Philippines.

A typhoon named Nock-Ten swept across the nation with winds of up to 150 mph or even more, causing lots of damage, evacuations and other big problems there.

The storm weakened as it crossed the Philippines, but still had sustained winds of 115 mph as it moved over more populated areas of the nation

Typhoons are common in and around the Philippines, but ones this strong this late in the season are quite rare.

In fact, this was the strongest landfalling typhoon for so late in the season in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, says Jeff Masters at Weather Underground. (Two other past typhoons that didn't strike land were a bit stronger.)

This was the third time in modern history a typhoon has hit the Philippines on Christmas, but this one was the strongest of those.

The Philippine Star said at least four people died in the storm and at least eight others were missing.