WIND (PREVAILING WIND DIRECTION)

PREVAILING WINDS ARE WINDS THAT BLOW FROM A SINGLE DIRECTION OVER A
SPECIFIC AREA OF THE EARTH. AREAS WHERE PREVAILING WINDS MEET ARE
CALLED CONVERGENCE ZONES. GENERALLY, PREVAILING WINDS BLOW EAST-
WEST RATHER THAN NORTH-SOUTH. THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE EARTH’S
ROTATION GENERATES WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE CORIOLIS EFFECT. THE
CORIOLIS EFFECT MAKES WIND SYSTEMS TWIST COUNTER-CLOCKWISE IN THE
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE AND CLOCKWISE IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.

SUN (EXPOSURES TO THE SUN)

ULTRAVIOLET (UV) RAYS ARE A PART OF SUNLIGHT THAT IS AN INVISIBLE FORM
OF RADIATION. UV RAYS CAN PENETRATE AND CHANGE THE STRUCTURE OF
SKIN CELLS. THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF UV RAYS: ULTRAVIOLET A (UVA),
ULTRAVIOLET B (UVB), AND ULTRAVIOLET C (UVC).

MOISTURE (HUMIDITY OR MOISTURE)

MOISTURE IS THE PRESENCE OF WATER. HUMIDITY IS A SPECIFIC TYPE OF
MOISTURE. ALL HUMIDITY IS MOISTURE (BUT NOT ALL MOISTURE IS HUMIDITY).
HUMIDITY IS SPECIFICALLY, VAPORIZED WATER PRESENT IN GAS. THE AMOUNT
OF WATER VAPOR THAT ANY GAS CAN HOLD IS DEPENDENT UPON THE
TEMPERATURE. HUMIDITY IS TYPICALLY EXPRESSED IN TERMS RELATIVE TO
THIS MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF WATER VAPOR THAT A GAS CAN CONTAIN AND WE
CALL THIS THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY (RH).

TEMPERATURE (OCCURRENCE OF TYPHOONS)

TYPHOONS REQUIRE HIGH SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES (SST) TO FORM, BUT
ONCE FORMED A TYPHOON'S MAXIMUM STRENGTH IS GOVERNED LARGELY BY
THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY IT CAN EXTRACT FROM THE UNDERLYING OCEAN. IN
GENERAL, THE WARMER THE SST, THE MORE INTENSE THE TYPHOON.