Typhoon Kujira has left the Philippines, leaving behind the usual trail of floods and destruction. It is currently roaring its way through the Pacific, far south of Japan. The storm is carrying winds of a trifling 115 knots (that's in excess of 130 mph), with gusts of 140 knots (160 mph) near the centre. The Japanese outposts of Iwo To (formerly Iwo Jima) and Chichi Jima will see a slightly weaker incarnation of the storm on Wednesday.
The Philippines weather agency should look over its shoulder. Rather than wave good-bye to Dante (the Philippines' name of Kujira), they want to monitor tropical storm Chan-hom. This system is gathering strength in the South China Sea, east of Vietnam, and could batter the Philippino island of Luzon later in the week, possibly as a typhoon. A typhoon is the same as a hurricane by the way. As I indicated above, it is lethal floods that present the greatest problem with tropical systems in the Philippines, and I am looking forward to see a bulletin from PAGASA by morning.
Normal blogging is currently on the Shell Gallery, as I'm in Holland.
