ACROSS THE GLOBE, ANOTHER UNUSUAL WEATHER PATTERN WREAKED HAVOC IN TAIWAN. TYPHOON MEGI MADE LANDFALL LAST WEEK, AND BROUGHT TORRENTIAL RAIN AND STRONG WINDS TO THE SMALL ISLAND COUNTRY.
A TYPHOON IS A SEVERE ROTATING STORM THAT FORMS IN THE NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC OCEAN. MEGI LEFT 3.89 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT POWER AS IT MADE LANDFALL IN TAIWAN, THE SECOND WORST BLACKOUT IN TAIWAN’S HISTORY.
A TYPHOON IS VERY SIMILAR TO A HURRICANE – LIKE HURRICANE MATTHEW, WHICH WHIRLED OVER THE CARIBBEAN EARLIER THIS WEEK. A HURRICANE IS THE SAME KIND OF SEVERE CIRCULAR STORM – JUST IN THE ATLANTIC, CARIBBEAN, AND NORTHEASTERN PACIFIC OCEANS.
WHETHER IT’S A HURRICANE OR A TYPHOON, THE END RESULT IS A LOT OF RAIN – AND, JUDGING BY THE PICTURES, A LOT OF BROKEN UMBRELLAS AND WET PEOPLE.
Instructional Links
Website Article/Maps: From Hurricane to Typhoon: What Happens When Tropical Cyclones Cross the International Date Line?
Maps/Diagrams/Pictures: How do hurricanes form?
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/hurricanes/en/
Encyclopedia Article: World Book Kids, Taiwan
http://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home#article/ar831432
May Need Password
Map: Mapcarta, SouthEast China
http://mapcarta.com/Southeast_China
Website Article: Weather Wiz Kids, Hurricanes
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/?page_id=58
Website Article: Learn NC, How does a hurricane form?