Hurricane Bertha and Typhoon Fengshen: Expect the Unexpected

We all know weather can be unpredictable. Even with weather satellites, advanced instrumentation, and computer modeling, weather forecasts are often wrong. Two recent storms prove the weather can take unexpected turns.

Hurricane Bertha

Bertha appeared early in hurricane season. She began as an early tropical storm and strengthened to become a category 3 storm at one point. Now, Bertha has been called the longest lived tropical storm for the month of July. While no serious damage occurred when hurricane Bertha swept past Bermuda on July 14, 2008, the reason the storm is still making headlines is her longevity. Read more...

Typhoon Fengshen

Typhoon Fengshen (aka Typhoon Frank) killed more than 1000 people in the Philippines when the storm was at maximum intensity from June 20-23, 2008. One particularly disturbing disaster occurred when a ferry capsized carrying more than 800 passengers. But the horror of the storm is not over. While the storm has dissipated, the rains have not stopped. According to the NASA Earth Observatory, the island of Mindanao was spared from the storm, but torrential rains have caused severe flooding. Nearly 75% of the city of Cotabato was under floodwaters last week. Read more...