Typhoon Haiyan the biggest yet as world's tropical storms gather force

Haiyan may be strongest ever to hit land so far but as the oceans warm the power of storms is risingWhen typhoon Haiyan - known in the Philippines as Yolanda - pounded into the islands of Samar and Leyte at 4.40am after picking up speed on a 900-mile track across the Pacific, the US navy's warning centre, JTWC, in Honolulu, calculated its winds to be gusting at up to 235mph (380kph).This would make it the fourth most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded and possibly the strongest to have ever hit land. By comparison, St Jude, the storm that hit in southern England last month, had winds gusting to 99mph.As Filipino communities calculated the flood and wind damage done in the 25-mile-wide path of the storm, meteorologists questioned claims that Haiyan was the strongest ever to make landfall. "All we can say at this stage is maybe. The estimates of wind strength and central pressure are just that – estimates – albeit from well-attested satellite techniques developed over decades. Without ground observations right in the centre of the track we can never be totally sure," said Julian Heming, tropical prediction scientist at the Met Office.Haiyan is the third Category 5 "super typhoon" to hit the Philippines since 2010. "In 2010 Megi peaked at 180mph winds but killed only 35 people, and did $276m in damage. But Bopha, which hit the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on 3 December, 2012 , left 1,901 people dead and was the costliest natural disaster in Philippines history ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: theguardian.com Asia Pacific Meteorology Analysis World news Natural disasters and extreme weather Philippines Hurricanes Science Source Type: news