Philippine Weather Typhoon Analysis

The Philippines gets hit with numerous typhoons a year, so it helps to be prepared.

One way of preparing for these tropical storms is to analyze the weather. Fortunately, there are sites online that provide weather analysis complete with satellite images and maps, plus animated image loops that show you how the storm has moved the past 4 hours or so.

Some of the images are even color-coded, to give you an idea of how much water or rain the storm is carrying. Armed with this information, you will be able to judge whether or not to leave your area earlier, especially if you live in low-lying coastal areas, or if you live near the Marikina river, for example.

One of the helpful sites you can visit is Typhoon Analysis and Weather Observation site of Jermaine Christopher Gaines. You can view it at http://weathergaines.blogspot.com

(Click the above image to see the loop or animated version)

You'll find those color coded satellite images. I wish I had found that site earlier, so that I could've seen what Typhoon Ondoy looked like (in terms of amount of rainfall). That way, I could've easily compared it with Typhoon Pepeng (international code name Parma), which is currently colored dark red (meaning: "moderate rain/shower/TS")

Let us prepare for this, pray for safety, and help our fellow Pinoys especially those affected by Typhoon Ondoy. Let us be vigilant and help get the word out quickly, so that more people will be able to survive our weather here in the Philippines.

[ First posted on 10/01/2009 by Manuel Viloria ]