A 

typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern

Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin,[1] and is the most active
tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for almost one-third of the world's annual tropical
cyclones. For organizational purposes, the northern Pacific Ocean is divided into three regions:
the eastern (North America to 140°W), central (140°W to 180°), and western (180° to 100°E).
The Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for tropical cyclone forecasts is
in Japan, with other tropical cyclone warning centers for the northwest Pacific
in Hawaii (the Joint Typhoon Warning Center), the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Although the
RSMC names each system, the main name list itself is coordinated among 18 countries that have
territories threatened by typhoons each year.[2]
Within most of the northwestern Pacific, there are no official typhoon seasons as tropical
cyclones form throughout the year. Like any tropical cyclone, there are several main
requirements for typhoon formation and development. It must be in sufficiently warm sea surface
temperatures, atmospheric instability, high humidity in the lower-to-middle levels of the
troposphere, have enough Coriolis effect to develop a low pressure center, a pre-existing low
level focus or disturbance, and a low vertical wind shear. Although the majority of storms form
between June and November, a few storms may occur between December and May (although
tropical cyclone formation is at a minimum during that time). On average, the northwestern
Pacific features the most numerous and intense tropical cyclones globally. Like other basins,
they are steered by the subtropical ridge towards the west or northwest, with some systems
recurving near and east of Japan. The Philippines receive the brunt of the landfalls,
with China and Japan being less often impacted. However, some of the deadliest typhoons in
history have struck China. Southern China has the longest record of typhoon impacts for the
region, with a thousand-year sample via documents within their archives. Taiwan has received
the wettest known typhoon on record for the northwest Pacific tropical cyclone basins. However,
Vietnam recognises its typhoon season as lasting from the beginning of June through to the end
of November, with an average of four to six typhoons hitting the country annually.[3][4]

Etymology and usage[edit]

The term typhoon is the regional name in the northwest Pacific for a severe (or mature) tropical
cyclone,[5] whereas hurricane is the regional term in the northeast Pacific and northern Atlantic.
[6]
 Elsewhere this is called a tropical cyclone, severe tropical cyclone, or severe cyclonic storm.[7]
The French typhon has been attested with the meaning of whirlwind or storm since 1504.
[8]
 The Oxford English Dictionary[9] cites Hindustani ṭūfān and Chinese tai fung giving rise to
several early forms in English. The earliest forms in English—"touffon", later "tufan", "tuffon",
and others—derive from Hindustani ṭūfān, with citations as early as 1588. From 1699 appears
"tuffoon", later "tiffoon", derived from Chinese with spelling influenced by the older Hindustani-
derived forms. The modern spelling "typhoon" dates to 1820, preceded by "tay-fun" in 1771 and
"ty-foong", all derived from the above-mentioned Chinese tai fung.
The Hindustani source word ṭūfān ("violent storm"; Perso-Arabic: ‫طوفان‬, Devanagari: तूफ़ान)
[10]
 comes from the Persian tūfān (‫طوفان‬/‫ )توفان‬meaning "storm" which comes from the
verb tūfīdan (N‫طوفیدن‬/‫)توفیدن‬, "to roar, to blow furiously".[citation needed] The word ‫طوفان‬ (ṭūfān) is also
derived from Arabic as coming from ṭāfa ( َ‫)طاف‬, to turn round.[9]
The Chinese source is the word tai fung or taifeng[10] (simplified Chinese: 台风; traditional
Chinese: 颱風; pinyin: táifēng). The modern Japanese word, 台風 (たいふう, taifuu); as well as
the modern Korean word 태풍 (taepung) are also derived from Chinese. The first character is
normally used to mean "pedestal" or "stand", but is actually a simplification of the older Chinese
character 颱, which means "typhoon"; thus the word originally meant "typhoon wind". In
Vietnamese, "大 風" (đại phong) translates literally to "strong winds", but the phrase "bão nhiệt
đới" (暴熱帶 'Ferocious tropical storm') is used instead.
The Ancient Greek Τυφῶν (Typhôn, "Typhon") is related and has secondarily influenced the
word.[10] The Persian term may originally have been influenced by the Greek word.[9][11]