19
vature, if the typhoons that recurve in the China Sea are not taken into account. A vessel having experienced a typhoon is not likely to fall in with it again after it has recurved, but it happens to vessels in the Pacific, especially to such as have suffered damage and been carried all round the centre when they first met the typhoon.
Typhoons cease to exist, except as minor depressions, as soon as the centre enters the mainland. The centres of different typhoons often enter the coast in the same place: where it is low, as for instance, the Lien-chau peninsula; near Huilingsan; the Canton river, etc. The typhoons originate during squalls in hot and damp places near sea-level and over the sea. Storms in N China originate higher up
in the air on the mainland across which they move, and they do not appear to increase in strength so quickly as the typhoons, when the centre reaches the sea. Islands-even Formosa with its high mountains-do not affect a typhoon's path much though they tend to break the typhoon up, to some extent, as is particularly noticeable in case of typhoons remaining long over the southern Philippines or crossing Formosa moving from S towards N. On the contrary, open channels such as the Balingtang Channel, the Formosa and Korea Channels, have much greater effect on the path. It has already been remarked that the progression of a typhoon is the effect of the wind prevailing at the time at or near the earth's surface. Now, the wind rushes with such force through open channels, with more or less high mountains on both sides, as to deflect the typhoons and accelerate their speed. This is sometimes seen in the China Sea, when the centre of a typhoon is moving slowly northwards. As soon as the centre approaches the latitude of the Balingtang Chanuel, the centre bends its way suddenly to the Westward, and rushes towards Hainan perhaps thrice as quickly as it moved before, Typhoons entering the Formosa Channel and at times the Korea Channel are deflected to the West- ward and have their speed accelerated by the strong NE winds in those Channels. As long as the SW monsoon is strong, the typhoons move in some Northerly direction. It is only late in the year when the NE monsoon happens to blow very fresh that typhoons move South-westward in the China Sea.
<
W
5
7
29.50
3
N
2940
10
2930
K
10
E
10
a
10
S
Typhoon in the Formosa Channel
1884 August 21-22.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.