Hurricane update - 1 December

Typhoon Bopha is headed for the Pacific island state of Palau, and is forecast to affect the southeastern Philippines beyond that. The typhoon carries maximum sustained winds of 125 knots (140 mph), with gusts to 150 knots (170 mph), and will intensify a bit more. This system originated from a disturbance that formed very close to the equator, and had some bother pulling itself together through lack of Coriolis force, which is greater, the further away you are from the equator.