Friday, September 20

Tropical Storm Pulasan struck China's most populous city of Shanghai yesterday, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds.

Pulasan began only four days ago as a tropical depression northwest of the Northern Mariana Islands, but the storm moved quick. The system maintained a rapid pace of around 20 mph as it moved northwest across the western Pacific, slowly intensifying as it traveled. At one point, the storm reached speeds of over 33 mph-- an exorbitant pace for a tropical system.

During its journey, it intensified and even became a typhoon at one point, packing dangerous winds of over 75 mph, but cooler waters caused it to weaken as it approached China. By the time the storm had arrived in Zhejiang province, which stretches up the coast to the area south of Shanghai, it was a weak tropical depression carrying some heavy rain, and it had slowed down to only 9 mph. It made a brief landfall on an island off the coast, but later made its official landfall in Shanghai's Fengxian District, bringing its pouring rain to an already-saturated area.

Earlier in the week, Typhoon Bebinca slammed Shanghai and the surrounding areas with heavy rain and winds of around 95 mph. It dumped buckets of precipitation all over the city, and that rain coupled with its strong winds did damage all over the Greater Shanghai area. Bebinca was the strongest tropical cyclone to hit Shanghai since Typhoon Gloria in 1949, flooding streets and knocking down power lines and trees. Over 414,000 people were forced to evacuate before Bebinca made landfall, while flights, ferries, and trains were canceled and school was out for the day. Two people were killed in the storm, and another local was injured by a falling tree.

Power was restored quickly and everything returned back to normal until Pulasan brought more rain, with the heavily-saturated ground exacerbating flooding effects. However, Bebinca will continue to dump rain across China's inner regions as it fizzles out, while Pulasan has a long path ahead.

The system is expected to restrengthen into a tropical storm today as it passes over the Yellow Sea, heading towards South Korea. From there, the storm could shift north and pass straight through South Korea before arriving in northern Japan as a tropical depression, bringing heavy rain to both areas. However, it could also veer south, skimming the southern coastline of South Korea and going on to impact central Japan with stronger winds and heavier rain. In addition, there is the possibility that the storm goes right through the middle of those two paths, delivering even more damage, as it would strike both South Korea and Japan hard.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Fingerprints start out looking like the same patches of cells that will go on to form hair follicles. However, instead of turning into hair follicles, these cells form ridges patterned in whorls and loops thanks to tiny differences in the expression of the genes responsible for forming skin structures.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create. (Buddha)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Approbation (noun)- Approbation is a formal word that refers to praise or approval.

In a Sentence: Their plan to rewild portions of the city’s parks has won the approbation of the mayor.