typhoons

Extreme weather is what we call it when a particular weather event like a flash flood or a heat wave is significantly different from the average weather pattern for an area. It is important to understand these events because they can be disruptive and even deadly, harming human communities, agriculture and ecosystems. 

At least 42 people have died and 15 are missing after Typhoon Hagibis swamped Japan Saturday, bringing record rainfall that flooded more than 1,000 homes, The Washington Post reported. It was the worst storm to hit the country in decades, BBC News reported, and more than 110,000 people are now assisting with the rescue efforts. […]

Super Typhoon Yutu hammered the U.S. territories in the Northern Mariana Islands early Thursday morning, making it the strongest storm to hit U.S. territory this year, the Associated Press reported. The storm hit with the power of a Category 5 hurricane when it struck the largest Northern Mariana Islands of Saipan and Tinian, home to […]

Each year, Japan’s iconic cherry blossoms herald the arrival of spring. But after a bout of extreme weather, blooms are being reported several months early. The Japanese weather site Weathernews said it had received more than 350 reports of blossoms throughout the country. The flowers usually appear in March or April. It’s not unusual for […]

A powerful earthquake rocked Hokkaido, Japan in the early hours on Thursday, triggering landslides, destroying roads and buildings and left the northern island’s 5.3 million residents without power. The 6.7-magnitude quake struck at 3:09 a.m. local time at a depth of 40 kilometers (24 miles), according to the Associated Press. Meteorological agency officials told the […]