Japan Can't Catch A Break: Typhoon Jebi Devastates

High winds during Typhoon Jebi this week blew these cars into Japan
into a pile, as if they were all snow blowing into a drift.
Photo: Jiji Press/AFPI/Getty Images

Japan has had a horrible summer.

First, one of the worst floods in that nation's history killed more than 200 people in late June and the first half of July.

Then a terrible heat wave broke all time record highs, and killed more people.

In the late summer, typhoons have been harassing Japan, and finally, this week, the worst typhoon in 25 years slammed the country, causing widespread destruction, especially in and near the Osaka metropolitan area.

The storm killed about a dozen people and caused widespread destruction. Thousands of people were stranded at Kansai International Airport when a storm surge flooded most of the airport and a ship crashed into a bridge connecting the airport to the mainland.

As you can see in the photo in this post, cars were blown into a pile as if they were a snowdrift formed in a gusty Vermont snowstorm.

It keeps getting worse. Japan was also struck by an earthquake that set off numerous landslides in the northern island of Sapporo. Several people are reported dead or missing.

Quite a few videos are coming out of smart-phone crazy Japan.

Here's roofs peeling away and trucks overturning:



Flying roofs do seem to be a theme of this typhoon. Here's another compilation, including the roof coming off a high rise:



This one looks particularly scary, including glass and ceilings falling into an atrium still occupied by people, and what appears to be a large air conditioning unit flying off a building and onto a (hopefully) unoccupied car:



This video seems particularly apocalyptic: Siding and scaffolding blowing off high rises and blowing through parking lots, piles of windblown cars burning, unmoored boats and wind blowing over cars and trucks and tearing apart a truck on a bridge. What were they doing out driving in that weather?



This brief video shows what a mess they'll have to pick up in the wake of the typhoon

Philippines Typhoon Kills Up To 240 People

Destruction from Typhoon Tembin in the Philippines
 this past week. 

While we're shivering our timbers in the Northeast U.S., the nearly never-ending typhoon season in the western Pacific continues onward. (This is normal, they get occasional typhoons for much of the year.)

Unlike the very destructive Atlantic hurricane season the tropical storm and typhoon season in the western Pacific was relatively tame in 2017, especially compared to recent years.

However, a tropical storm that later became a minimal typhoon named Tembin caused a terrible, deadly disaster over Christmas weekend in the Philippines. This storm's deadly punch came in the form of torretial rains that triggered flash floods and mudslides, killing somewhere between 160 and 250 people in the southern part of the nation.  (There is still some confusion on the number.)

Typhoon Tembin capped a terribly tragic Christmas season in the Philippines. Another typhoon killed 50 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 or so homes in the central part of the nation a little over a week ago. Another storm sank a ferry this month to the northeast, killing five people. And in another tragedy not related to the weather, a shopping mall and office building fire claimed at least 37 lives. 

Typhoon Tembin threatened Vietnam, forcing evacuations there, but the typhoon dramatically weakened and ultimately steered clear of Vietnam, so it caused little damage and no injuries there.

According to the Category 6 weather blog, another typhoon might form in the western Pacific over the next couple of days and threaten the Philippines by around New Year's Day.

Perfect Weekend In Vermont. Elsewhere: Extreme Heat and Big Typhoon

It was wall to wall blue and green in Vermont over the weekend
after what will probably be the best weather of summer, 2017

We hope you got outside here in Vermont this past weekend, as it will go down as the most pleasant summer weather of 2017.

What was not to like? Cool comfortable nights for sleeping, tons of daytime sunshine, stunningly blue skies, low humidity and a nice breeze.

The weather will go downhill a little bit, since it couldn't have gotten any better. But it won't be terrible.

There will be a few hit and miss thunderstorms this afternoon as a weak disturbance comes in.

Most of us won't get a storm, but some towns will. They will be slow movers, so anyone who does get hit could get a torrential downpour, and some street flooding, minor washouts -  that kind of thing.

After a nice Tuesday, there will also be a rising chance of showers and thunderstorms the second half of this week, too.

All this is to say the weather won't be too extreme up here in Vermont. That's not to say other areas of the world are tranquil. That's never the case. Here are two areas to watch:

PACIFIC NORTHWEST HEAT:

According to the Weather Channel, some cities in the Pacific Northwest will flirt will all time record highs this week as a punishing heat wave settles over the region.

Seattle could hit 100 degrees, and if it does, it would be only the fourth time since 1894 that has happened.

The all-time high temperature in Portland, Oregon is 107. At the moment, the National Weather Service is forecasting a high temperature of 107 in Portland on Thursday.

Other cities that could come close to all time record highs are Eugene, Oregon (108), Medford, Oregon, (115) and Yakima, Washington, (110)

It's quite dry in the Pacific Northwest, so there are fears of wildfires in this upcoming heat wave. And just try to fight a fire in 110 degree heat.

The hot weather will extend north into British Columbia, where widespread wildfires have already been burning for more than a month.

According to the CBC, new evacuation orders have gone up for some towns in the Canadian province as fires spread and the heat wave takes hold. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to tour the fire zone this week as the blazes have become a national concern.

By the way, I see no signs of that heat wave making a cross-country trek to the Northeast, so we're still safe from the sweltering. (though it will be warm and humid throughout New England Wednesday through Friday, maybe into Saturday.)

SUPER TYPHOON NORU

The first Catagory 5 storm of the season is lurking off the coast of Japan. Typhoon Noru has increased in strength and now carries winds of 150 mph. It's too soon to tell where, or even if, this big typhoon will hit land, but Japan ought to keep an eye on it.

Meanwhile in Taiwan, tropical storms in the past week have dumped up to three feet of rain in some of the mountainous areas there, causing flooding and landslides.

TROPICAL STORM EMILY:

A tropical depression somewhat unexpectedly formed just off the west coast of Florida last night.  It further strengthened to become Tropical Storm Emily by 8 a.m. this morning. Its highest sustained winds are 45 mph. Forecasters don't think it will get any stronger as it moves east into the west coast of Florida near Tampa later today.

However, heavy rains associated with the Emily could cause flooding.

Emily or its remnants will move off the east coast of Florida in a couple days and head northeast, probably to a position off the North Carolina coast. Strong upper level winds will likely prevent the system from strengthening once it gets out into the open Atlantic.

This storm is not expected to have any effect on us here in New England.

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.

Not Sure Why This Scooter Rider Was Out In A Typhoon, But Bad Idea

A guy on a scooter should not have been
out riding during Typhoon Meranti in Taiwan. 

Typhoon Meranti, the strongest of the year so far, battered far southern Taiwan this week.

It then moved into China, where at last report it was causing high winds, destructive storm surges and torrential flooding rains.

There will be a lot of damage.

A video surfaced of a man on a scooter out in the typhoon in Taiwan.

I'm not sure why he thought it was a good idea to be out like that in such scary weather, but it didn't end well. Not sure of his condition now, but watch:

Big Typhoon Threatens Taiwan

Powerful Typhoon Nepartak could prove
to be one of the worst such storms to hit
Taiwan in many years.  

A nasty typhoon is heading toward Taiwan, and if it makes landfall there, it could be more destructive than most.

The typhoon, named Nepartak, will probably slam into Taiwan's east coast late Thursday or early Friday.

(Typhoons are hurricanes in the eastern Pacific. They are exactly that - hurricanes - but they're called typhoons in that part of the world.)

Nepartak is a Category 5 storm, the strongest and most dangerous of typhoons.

It looks like it might have reached peak intensity earlier today, and has weakened just a tiny bit. Sustained winds at last report were 172 mph, which is pretty scary. 

The current slight weakening doesn't mean that trend will continue.  

Strong typhoons and hurricanes sometimes go through what is known as an eyewall replacement cycle.  When this happens, the extremely intense thunderstorms around the storms' eye break down, and reform either closer of further away from the center of the storm.

This would make the eye either bigger or smaller than before. Once the eyewall replacement cycle is complete, a typhoon or hurricane has the potential to strengthen again.

Nepartak might indeed re-strengthen before it reaches Taiwan. It's over very warm water, which tends to feed typhoons and help make them stronger. Upper level winds over and near the typhoon are light.

Lighter upper level winds encourage typhoons and hurricanes to maintain themselves or get stronger, while more powerful winds high in the atmosphere tend to weaken these storms.

Moreover, as the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang notes, Nepartak is what is known as an annular storm, which is kind of rare.

Usually, typhoons and hurricanes have spiral bands of sbowers and thunderstorms radiating out fro the center. Annular storms just have a dense circle of intense storms around the eye with no spiral bands.

Flooding in eastern China recently turned this
escalator into a waterfall. In addition to the destruction
Typhoon Nepartak is expected to cause in Taiwan,
it will also worsen eastern Chinese flooding.
Image from the South China Morning Post.  

Annular storms tend to weaken much more slowly than regular typhoons or hurricanes, so Taiwan can't count on any kind of miracle collapse of the storm.

Taiwan is fairly used to typhoons as they often get them, but if this one makes landfall in Taiwan as a Category 5, things could get particularly nasty.

On top of the obvious problems with the winds and storm surges along the coast, up to three feet of rain might fall on parts of Taiwan with Nepartak.

As you an imagine, that would cause incredible flash floods and landslides as the storm hits the hilly, mountainous island.

Nepartak is ending a record long stretch without a tropical storm in the part of the Pacific Ocean where it's traveling now. It had been 199 days between typhoons there.

Too bad such a nasty one is breaking the storm-free streak.

Another big problem with Nepartak is it's pushing more moisture into flood ravaged eastern China. 

Floods there have claimed at least 110 lives in the past couple weeks and has damaged or destroyed thousands of buildings. Heavy rain associated with Nepartak is only going to make matters worse in China.

Now Its Phillippines Turn To Get Incredible Rains

Dangerous Typhoon Koppu approaching the
Phillippines on Friday. 

It seems like every day, there's a new spot on the globe that gets unprecedented rains.

Earlier this month it was South Carolina, which got nearly two feet of rain in what was described as a "1,000 year flood."

Thursday and Friday, it was parts of southern California, where localized intense storms led to epic floods and mudslides that trapped probably a few hundred people in their cars and blocked a piece of Interstate 5.

Next in the news, you'll be hearing about the Phillippines and their bout with incredible rains.

Typhoon Koppu has arrived on the main northern island of Luzon. It made landfall packing 140 mph winds.

Yes, yes, I know, the Phillippines gets a typhoon seemingly every five minutes so why is this news?

It's because Koppu is strong, and is basically going to stall for a couple days around the northern Phillippines. That will unleash literally feet of rain, and everybody who knows anything about Phillippines weather knows there's going to be a terrible flood.

Actually, it's already started but it will keep getting worse over the next couple of days. It's over land, so the winds are rapidly weakening. But as is the case with most landfalling tropical systems, the rain is still cranking, big time.

Also, Koppu is moving very, very slowly, so it's going to sit and spin over Luzon for a few days, all the while dropping incredible amounts of rain.

One computer model I saw spits out 98 inches of rain in one spot in the Phillippines. That's over eight feet of rain!

 I seriously doubt they'll get anywhere near that amount, but for a computer model to even suggest that is something.

Typhoon Koppu striking the Philippines Saturday. 

I still wouldn't be surprised if three or four feet of rain falls in one or two locations in Luzon.

Government officials told the at least 6 million people in the storm's path to be ready to evacuate. The Phillippine military has also been deployed to northern Luzon to be ready for this monster.

No detailed word yet on casualties and damage so far, but BBC reports rescue workers spotting at least two bodies floating in flood waters.

I'm sure we will be hearing more about the destruction in the Philippines as one disaster after another seems to strike.

There's already a few videos coming out showing the increasing floods in Luzon. Here's one:

Typhoon Tornado Blows Car Away In Scary Video

A  car in Taiwan gets swept away in a tornado
spun off by Typhoon Soudelor over the weekend. 

Typhoons and hurricanes (both are exactly the same kind of tropical storms, just different names) often spin off tornadoes when they hit land.

Typhoon Soudelor was no exception when it smashed into Taiwan this past weekend.

Here's a dash cam video of a tornado sweeping a car away. I'm not even sure where it ends up, or whether the people inside survived.

I know at least 30 people were killed by the typhoon in Taiwan and China, and there is massive damage.

Here's the really, really frightening video of the tornado in Taiwan spun off by Soudelor:

Typhoon Soudelor Trashes Taiwan, As Expected

A scene in Taiwan as Typhoon Soudelor approached on Friday.
Photo from Getty Images 

Taiwan took the brunt of Typhoon Soudelor, which made landfall there, Saturday morning their time.

Peak wind gusts on land reached as high as 145 mph. Taipei, home to more than 2.5 million people, had gusts to 86 mph downtown and 93 mph out at the airport.

The big part of this storm was the rain. If you think Taipei's 12 inches and counting is huge, another town in Taiwan has so far reported 51 inches of rain in the past couple of days from the typhoon.

For comparison's sake, most cities in the United States East Coast normally get about 40 or 45 inches of rain per year.

Taiwan is among the most prepared areas for typhoons in the world, but even they can't escape the effects and disruption, of course. At least three people have died so far, two million people have no electricity, and there is massive, massive flooding.

Here are some videos that have so far come from Taiwan and Typhoon Soudelor:

Watch a very scary looking flash flood/mudslide associated with Soudelor's torrential rains:



Waves crash into the coast ahead of the typhoon:



The typhoon's winds blow this ferris wheel like a pinwheel:

Bad Weather: Here Are Cities You Don't Want To Visit Today

Deadly tornado near Cisco, Texas on Saturday.
More severe weather is on tap today, mostly in
East Texas and the upper Mississippi Valley.  

Bad, damaging and at times scary weather is scattered around the United States and around the world today.

There's the usual springtime severe weather, and there's flooding, and tropical storms, and even a blizzard. The extremes keep coming.

I'll list some cities that in most cases are quite lovely, but ones you don't want to visit this fine Mother's Day. Also, don't take your mom to these places unless you really hate her.

Sioux City, Iowa and Wichita Falls, Texas: These two cities fall roughly into the middle of two broad zones that have the biggest risk of severe thunderstorms, large hail and maybe a few tornadoes. The Storm Prediction Center received 50 reports of tornadoes yesterday, mostly in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Unfortunately, at least one death was reported with a tornado in Texas.

This zone of severe weather shifts east today, and forecasters say the areas I outlined above are most likely to be in for it today. This means the upper Mississippi Valley and the Red River Valley between Texas and Oklahoma.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: This storm-battered city has already received more than 11 inches of rain this month and more torrential thunderstorms are forecast today. The ground is saturated, there's already been a lot of flooding and the area is bracing for more. Luckily it will dry out in Oklahoma City for a couple days anyway early this coming week.

Rapid City, South Dakota: A late season winter storm is socking parts of Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota with up to 15 inches of snow. This type of thing occasionally  happens in this region in May, but it's still unwelcome.

Winter storm warnings are still up for a wide area in this part of the country, and a blizzard warning of all things continues for areas near Rapid City. You like to torture yourself with spring snow? Head to Rapid City. Otherwise, avoid.

Wilmington, North Carolina: Early season Tropical Storm Ana came ashore early today not far from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The weakening storm was still spinning near the Carolina coast today, and that region can expect gusty winds, dangerous surf and occasionally heavy rain.

Santa Ana, The Philippines: Super Typhoon Noul was crashing ashore near this northern Philippines city today, packing winds of 160 mph. Authorities fear massive destruction from storm surges, incredible winds, and huge floods.

The Philippines get typhoons pretty frequently, but this one is stronger than most and might cause extreme damage and lots of deaths. Let's hope not

Philippines Face ANOTHER Typhoon Disaster

Very strong Typhoon Hagupit is threatening
the Philippines.  

A little over a year ago, Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the Philippines, killing more than 7,000 people and leaving 4 million others homeless or with damaged houses.

Now, another typhoon, almost as strong, named Hagupit, is about to cause another disaster in the Philippines.

Hagupit developed explosively yesterday, and could hit the Philippines as a Category 4 or 5 storm with sustained winds of at least 140 or 150 mph.

East of the Philippines this morning, sustained winds with Hagupit are estimated at a little under 180 mph. It's a Category 5 monster at the moment.

Typhoons (we know these kinds of storms as hurricanes in the United States) thrive on warm water. The warmer the water, and the deeper the water is in the ocean, the more likely a typhoon or hurricane will get stronger, and stay strong.

Last year's Haiyan moved over extremely warm water that extended to an usual depth down into the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines. That allowed Haiyan to strengthen into one of the strongest tropical systems ever recorded.

This time, as Dr. Jeff Masters notes, the water is not quite as warm, and doesn't extend as deep as it did last year east of the Philippines. So probably Hagupit won't be quite as strong, and might not maintain its strength like typhoon that caused such a disaster last year.

Still, Hagupit is extremely powerful, and turned out to be stronger than most forecasters thought.
It is forecast to be a Category 4 storm at landfall in the Philippines on Saturday with winds, as I said, that could clock in at 150 mph.

Extremely heavy rain, mudslides, storm surges and floods are also a good bet.

The city of Tacloban was the hardest hit population center when Haiyan slammed into the country last year. The city is pretty close to where Hagupit will probably make landfall.  Hagupit might not end up scoring a direct hit on Tacloban, but people there are taking no chances.

People are being evacuated, residents have already raided the supermarkets to stock up on food and supplies, and they're hunkering down.

The Philippines get hit by typhoons all the time, but in recent years, they've tended to be stronger, and more have hit the southern part of the country. Usually, it's the north that gets most of them.

I hate to keep bringing this up, but I have to wonder if global warming is making things worse for the Philippines. As I noted, hurricanes and typhoons thrive on warm ocean water, the hotter the better, at least from the typhoon's perspective.

With ocean temperatures near the Philippines much warmer than they were years ago, is this making the nation even more prone to typhoons? Yes, there's normal Pacific Ocean cycles that bring water temperatures up or down in any given area.

But the water temperature trend in the water near the Philippines, and most of the ocean areas of the world for that matter, are on the upswing, so you have to consider climate change.

I don't have all the answers, but scientists, I know, are looking into this.

If you want to follow this storm, and probably end up with good information, dramatic photos and videos, follow Jim Edds on Twitter (@ExtremeStorms) He's a storm chaser, reporter and filmmaker, and he is in the Philippines now, awaiting the storm.

He was in the Philippines last year when Haiyan hit. Here's one of the videos he came back with.  Edds got himself stranded outside when the typhoon winds abruptly strengthened where he was. He took refuge in a swimming pool, then against a building as all hell broke loose.

I hope this new typhoon is not as bad what I see in Edds' video. Watch:

Cold Times Look Like They're Coming To Eastern Half of U.S.

This huge typhoon in the eastern Pacific Ocean
could help create a nasty cold snap in the eastern
United States next week.  

Many of us living in the eastern half of the United States have been hoping the upcoming winter won't be as cold and stormy and damn persistent as last winter was.

I can't speak for the entire upcoming winter, but it looks like we're going to be off to a cold, early start to winter.

There's a few factors driving this. The most immediate one is Typhoon Nuri, out in the Pacific Ocean.

You wouldn't think a typhoon many thousands of miles away would make Chicago or Buffalo cold and wintry, but it will.

Nuri is heading north and will turn into a very, very strong storm out in the Aleutian Islands southwest of the Alaska mainland.   In fact, it will probably be one of the strongest storms ever observed in that neck of the woods.

That's still thousands of miles away from the eastern United States, so how is what will become Ex-Nuri make us cold.

Easy. The big storm will help create a big ridge of high pressure along the west coast of North America. That will create a corresponding southward dip in the jet stream further east, toward central and eastern North America.

The southward flowing jet stream east of that Nuri-induced ridge will pump Arctic air southward. And Voila! You get a cold spell in the eastern half of North America. In fact, there will probably be a few Arctic cold fronts coming in starting this weekend and especially next week.

The cold air might last, at least on and off, for several weeks, and maybe into a good chunk of the winter. Capital Weather Gang says something called the Arctic Oscillation will ensure some cold blasts to come. 

The Arctic Oscillation is a measure of the strength of the polar jet stream. If that jet stream is strong, that jet stream acts a bit like a dam, keeping Arctic air masses from flowing southward into the United States.

If the Arctic Oscillation is measured as negative, that means the polar jet stream is weak. Arctic cold air can blast through that jet stream dam and flow down into the United States. That's what happened last winter. The Arctic Oscillation was in negative territory much of the winter, the polar jet stream was weak, so we got repeated blasts of frigid air.

Another factor that could keep the eastern United States chilled is record warm Pacific Ocean water off the Pacific Northwest coast. 

Sometimes, this warm water can help maintain that ridge of higher atmospheric pressure in the western U.S. That ridge often, but does not always, mean a dip in the jet stream in the East.

As I've already said, such a dip leads to cold temperatures.

We'll see how all this plays out.

That Typhoon Threatening Japan Is Incredible!

Satellite view of Typhoon Vongfong in
the western Pacific Ocean.  

Super Typhoon Vongfong became the strongest storm on Earth for 2014 yesterday and is the strongest storm since that terrible Haiyan that hit the Phillipines last November.

I'm always fascinated by the cloud structure of really strong tropical systems and Vongfong is no exception.

Click on the visible satellite photo of Vongfong in this post to make it bigger and easier to see.

You can see the striations in the clouds surrounding the eye of the storm. To me, it implies just an incredible whirl of wind around that eye.

No surprise, because estimated highest sustained winds with Vongfong are 180 mph.

Vongfong will probably threaten Japan by this weekend. It will have weakened by then, damaged by strong upper level winds and cooler sea temperatures near Japan that tend to make tropical systems peter out.

Still, it will be a formidable storm by the time it reaches Japan. They had another typhoon on Monday, so the ground is saturated. There will be wind and storm surge damage in Japan if Vongfong hits, but I think the worst threat is inland flooding.  It could get nasty.

Close up of the eye of Super Typhoon Vongfong
Not the intense swirl, and the little mini-swirls
within the eye, which is characteristic of
powerful tropical systems.  

Some of you might be thinking, "What do I care? I'm not going to Japan."

Well, yes, but you want to be sympathetic to the people having to deal with such a terrible storm.

If you insist on looking for a way Vongfong might affect you, here it is: Sometimes, when a huge typhoon heads north, past Japan, it rejiggers the jet stream and makes it plunge southward into the central or eastern United States.

That causes a cold snap in the eastern half of the U.S.

That's not guaranteed, of course, since the typhoon/cold wave connection doesn't always work. Still, some long range models indicate a spell of chilly weather in New England, at least around the Oct 17-21 or so.

We'll see what happens.

One After Another, Typhoons Hitting Japan

Pedestrians in Japan struggle in Typhoon Phanfone.
Photo by Takanori Ichikawa/AP  

A typhoon named Phanfone slammed Japan as expected today, dropping up to 19 inches of drenching rain, and  causing a big, gusty day in Tokyo and other major cities.

What's worse, another typhoon is expected to hit Japan later in the week or early next week.

Phanfone killed three U.S. servicemen in Guam when waves they were watching from shore swept them out to sea.

Of course, there was also flooding, and transportation headaches as flights and bullet train service was suspended.

One of the biggest fears was that flooding rains from the typhoon will cause debris flows from the deep piles of ash from the volcano Ontake that erupted a couple weeks ago, killing about 50 people then.  These debris flows could crash down on populated areas, causing more loss of life and property damage.

The next typhoon, named Vongfong, is expected to become what is known as a super-typhoon with winds of 150 mph or more by Wednesday.

Typhoons usually weaken a little by the time they reach central Japan. Vongfong will probably do that, but its torrential rains, falling on a thoroughly soaked landscape left behind by Phanfone, could cause some wicked flooding in Japan, which has already seen its share of nasty flooding this year.

We can always hope that Vongfong will unexpectedly steer clear of Japan, but I'm not holding my breath.

More Videos On Typhoon Haiyan's Power

More videos are emerging out of the Philippines that show the power of Super-Typhoon Haiyan.

Haiyan's extreme wind and rain in the
Philippines.  

One of the most striking things about the storm was the sudden onset of extreme conditions as the Haiyan's central eyewall moved over a particular area.

(The eyewall, immediately surrounding the center of the storm, or eye) is the most intense part of a typhoon or hurricane)

Conditions were bad before the eyewall moved over a particular area. But when the eyewall began to move in, winds suddenly became catastrophic as opposed to gradually increasing, and the storm surge abruptly crashed ashore instead of building over a matter of a couple hours as they usually do.

That's a reflection of how intense the storm was. The bigger the contrast between the low pressure of the center of any storm and the pressure zone outside the storm the worse the winds and rain.

Haiyan was extremely strong among the strongest on record. And it was the strongest typhoon to ever hit land.

Here are the dramatic, scary videos:



This one shows the dramatic onset of the storm surge. Much like a tsunami.

Typhoon Update: Philippines Reeling

I was afraid this would happen.

Destruction in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan  

In the immediate hours after Typhoon Haiyan smashed through the Philippines, initial reports indicated the death toll wasn't that bad.

But as people are finally able to get in and survey damage from one of the strongest typhoons in world history, the news has gotten really, really bad.

Estimates are up to 10,000 people died in the storm, and images coming from the disaster zone show unclaimed bodies lying in the street.

The same thing kind of happened with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The initial reports were New Orleans had largely been spared, but of course within hours we knew it was a cataclysm.

The same has pretty much happened with Typhoon Haiyan.

To give you an idea of how bad things got, here's a video tour, below,  of the hardest hit larger city in Philippines, Tacloban City, which is pretty much flattened.

Notice the city looks like it's been hit  by a strong tornado, kind of like looking like Joplin, Missouri after their mega-tornado in 2011, with gutted buildings and shattered, leafless trees.

Taclonan City also looks like it was hit, along with the "tornado," the huge Japanese tsunami of 2011.

Here's the sad video:

Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Is Incredible On Many Levels

You'll see on the news today reports about incredible Super Typhoon Haiyan hitting the Philippines, causing mass destruction.

A visible satellite closeup of the eye
of Typhoon Haiyan hitting the Philippines.
Those striations in the clouds surounding
the eye indicate extremely powerful winds.  

Early reports suggest three people have died so far, but unfortunately the death toll will go way up from there, considering the strength of the storm and the extent of the damage.

The area it hit also had a bad earthquake recently, so landslides are probably more likely than they otherwise would be.

Haiyan, also known as Yolanda, is one of the strongest typhoons on record for the entire earth. (Typhoon is the east Asian word for hurricane)

It also might be the typhoon with the strongest winds to affect land areas, according to hurricane expert Dr. Jeff Masters. All other typhoons that are among the strongest on record reached their peak strength away from land. Haiyan had sustained winds possibly as high as 190 mph, with gusts to 230 at the time it hit land.

Picture how terrifying this must have been for the people who live in the typhoon zone. We're familiar with news reports of shaken survivors of strong tornados in the United States describing what it was like hiding in their disintegrating houses as the 150 to 200 mph winds of a tornado passed overhead.

But tornados only affect one particular place for five or ten minutes at most. Imagine enduring several hours of tornado strength winds.

Combine that with huge storm surges coming in from the sea and a couple feet of rain and you can imagine how serious this is.

Writing at Quartz, Meteorologist Eric Holthaus said Haiyan is the first tropical system he is aware of that went off the scale that measures hurricane or typhoon strength.  Meteorologist use something called the  Dvorak scale to gauge and compare the strengths of hurricanes. The scale goes up to 8.0. Haiyan went above that.

The typhoon will soon leave the Philippines and head toward Vietnam. It won't be quite as strong when it hits land in Vietnam, but it will still be an enormous, powerful, dangerous storm.

This one, sadly, is one for the record books, and not in a good way.

Here's a video of how bad it was in the Philippines:

Latest "Weather Porn" Video: People Dodge Deadly Flying Typhoon Utor Debris

In our latest installment of "Weather Porn" defined as dramatic, exciting images and videos of extreme weather, we bring you to the bustling city of Zhapu, China.

Flooding and damage from Typhoon Utor in the
Phillipines. Utor went on to trash parts of China  

This week, deadly, scary Typhoon Utor hit that area of the world. (See the video at the bottom of this post)

Judging from the video, I certainly admire the apparently ambitious people of Zhapu going about their business and work and driving and such despite the typhoon trashing the place.

But really, flying sheet metal from disintegrating roofs will cut you to ribbons. (Relax, the video does not show people getting cut to ribbons or otherwise seriously hurt in the storm)

Also, the middle of a typhoon is not exactly a good time to go for a drive, take a stroll down a city sidewalk or hop on your motorcycle for a jaunt around town, as the video clearly demonstrates.

With hurricane season really winding up in the Atlantic Ocean and prospects of a busy season, chances are an American city could have scenes like this one out of Zhapu. Let's hope not.

Watch: