CLASSIFICATION OF TYPHOONS

The Philippines is prone to tropical cyclones due to its geographical location which generally produce heavy rains and flooding of large areas and also strong winds which result in heavy casualties to human life and destructions to crops and properties. Thus, it is of utmost importance to have sufficient knowledge on such maritime phenomena for beneficial purposes.

Tropical cyclones derive their energy from the latent heat of condensation which made them exist only over the oceans and die out rapidly on land. One of its distinguishing features is its having a central sea-level pressure of 900 mb or lower and surface winds often exceeding 100 knots. They reach their greatest intensity while located over warm tropical waters and they begin to weaken as they move inland. The intensity of tropical cyclones vary, thus , we can classify them based upon their degree of intensity.

The classification of tropical cyclones according to the strength of the associated windsas adopted by PAGASA as of 01 May 2015 are as follows:

source: http://bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/information/about-tropical-cyclone

As always, stay safe buddies!