8

Science 8
Quarter 2 – Module : 4
UNDERSTANDING TYPHOON
Activity 1 – A. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write your answer on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. What agency takes charge of giving information about the coming of typhoon?
a. DOST b. PAGASA c. PHIVOLCS d. NDRRMC
2. What is necessary to form a typhoon?
a. warm air b. moist air c. heated air d. cool air
3. For at least how many hours can we expect a PSWS #3 tropical cyclone before it
affects the locality?
a. 36 hours b. 24 hours c. 18 hours d. 12 hours
4. When a tropical cyclone passes over a certain place, it is the that has
greater wind speed?
a. eye b. eyewall c. rainbands d. directions
5. In which layer of the atmosphere, do all weather disturbances happen?
a. Thermosphere b. Mesosphere
c. Stratosphere d. Troposphere
6. In which category of a typhoon do rain clouds build over a warm ocean?
a. Tropical depression b. Tropical storm
c. Typhoon d. Super typhoon
7. What is the global generic term for an intense circulating weather system over
tropical seas and oceans?
a. Tropical depression b. Tropical cyclone
c. Tropical storm d. Typhoon
8. What do we call the tropical cyclone occurs in the Northwest Pacific Ocean?
a. Hurricane b. Tropical storm
c. Typhoon d. None of the above
9. What happens when sea level rises and strong winds blow from offshore to the
coastline area?
a. Tsunami b. Thunderstorms
c. Tropical storm d. Storm surge
10. Which of the following will we NOT experience during a typhoon?
a. Very strong winds b. Heavy rains
c. Large ocean waves d. shaking of ground

Activity 1-B Modified True or False. Analyze each statement. Write TRUE if the
statement is correct. If the statement is NOT TRUE, change the underlined word to
come up with the correct statement.
11. The lowest air pressure is at the eyewall of a tropical cyclone.
12. At the eye of a tropical cyclone, wind speed is higher.
13. When tropical cyclone reach land, they intensify because warm ocean
water keeps them going.
14. The location of the eye is the location of the tropical cyclone.
15. Weather forecasting is a prediction on the general weather conditions of
the atmosphere in the next 20 hours.
 Lesson
Understanding Typhoons
1
Every year the Philippines is hit by typhoons. No part of the country is spared. All
provinces have been visited by a typhoon at one time or the other. In recent years, the
Philippines had been overwhelmed by powerful tropical cyclones.

The energy of the tropical cyclone is thus derived from the massive liberation of the
underlying heat of condensation.

In other parts of the world, these are referred to as hurricanes, typhoons or simply
tropical cyclones depending on the region. In the North Atlantic, Eastern North Pacific and
South Pacific Ocean, they are called "hurricanes". In the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and
Western South Indian Ocean, the name is "cyclonic". In the eastern part of the Southern
Indian Ocean, it is "willy-willy", and in the Western North Pacific Ocean, they are called
"typhoons".

PARTS OF A TYPHOON
EYE -The center. The calm part of the storm.
EYE WALL – The Part around the eye. It has the strongest winds and rains. Winds may blow 200 mil
RAIN BANDS – These are clouds that spin.

Tropical depression, tropical storm, typhoon, and supertyphoon are categories of a

tropical cyclone. A tropical cyclone is a system of thunderstorms which are moving around
a center. As the winds intensify or weaken, the category is upgraded or downgraded
accordingly.

Category Maximum Wind Speed

Kilometers per hour
(kph)
Tropical Depression 64
Tropical Storm 118
Typhoon 200
Super typhoon Greater than 200

How Landforms and Bodies of Water Affect Typhoons

Tropical cyclones can only form over oceans of the world except in the South Atlantic
Ocean and the South Eastern Pacific where a tropical cyclone could never be formed due to
the cooler sea surface temperature and higher vertical wind shears. They reach their greatest
intensity while located over warm tropical water. As soon as they move inland, they begin to
weaken, but often not before they have caused great destruction
 The Philippines is prone to tropical cyclones due to its geographical location
which generally produce heavy rains and flooding of large areas. It also susceptible
to strong winds which result in heavy casualties to human life and destructions to
crops and properties. Thus, it is of utmost importance to have sufficient knowledge
on such maritime phenomena for beneficial purposes.

Philippines experienced many typhoons with approximately 19-20 typhoons

per year. And somewhat each one of us is always fascinated with “WHY”.

Activity 4

Instructions: Check the Philippine map. What have you noticed? Familiarize
yourself with the different bodies of water and landforms surrounding the
Philippines.

Figure 4. Philippine Map

Source: https://bit.ly/36LA9FZ

The formation of a typhoon involves the following processes:

Evaporation of water at ocean surface temperatures of 26.5 degree Celsius
Convergence of air masses of different characteristics
High humidity
Warm air rises toward the cooler parts of the atmosphere; it cools off and the water vapor be
 “In the warm, open seas just off the equator, the water is considerably
warmer; so is the air. The warm air helps the warm water evaporate faster; and this
hot, moist mass of air would go up, following the basic principle that "warm air
goes up, cool air goes down."

Figure 5. How tropical cyclones form

Source: https://www.rappler.com/science/earth-space/explainer-how-tropical-cyclones-typhoons-hurricanes-
form

Up in the air, the water vapor cools down and condenses, and the heat is
released back to the air; this heat makes the air lighter, making it move further up.

It then triggers air from outside the system to go inward, then upward,
towards the system. This air flow helps more water to evaporate, joining the
clouds and precipitation already massing up in the air.
 If the process continues, energy and precipitation accumulate further, and
the winds speed up. Once the winds reach a certain speed, it then becomes a
tropical cyclone.

If conditions are favorable, the tropical cyclone will continuously accumulate

energy and precipitation, making the system stronger and more destructive.

How a tropical cyclone is called differs based on where it was formed. In the
Northwest Pacific – the area that includes the Philippines – it is called a typhoon; in
the Southwest Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, it is a cyclone; and in the Eastern
Pacific and in the Atlantic, it is a hurricane.

The location of the storm also determines how it spins. Those that form
below the equator spin clockwise, while those that form north of the equator,
counterclockwise.

In recent years, with seas and oceans getting warmer, the planet has seen
these already extreme weather systems become stronger and fiercer.

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Figure 6. Typhoon Anatomy

Source: https://www.rappler.com/science/earth-space/explainer-how-
tropical-cyclones-typhoons-hurricanes-form