SCIENCE

What are the harmful effects of a typhoon?

Typhoon winds can affect buildings and other structures in two ways: through direct force
and through projectiles. Direct force is when a wind gust slams directly into a building or
structure and causes physical damage, such as when wind blows the roof off a home.
Wind can also inflict damage by picking up and launching debris and other items, such as
tree branches and building materials, into buildings and other structures. The heavy and
persistent rainfall that typhoons bring can also have devastating effects. In addition to
making homes uninhabitable, the flooding associated with typhoons can make roads
impassable, which can cripple rescue and aid efforts.
Typhoons can also affect the natural environment, and cause harm to trees and other
vegetation, including crops that communities may rely on for sustenance or trade, or both.
Strong winds can snap branches; detach and injure leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds; and
uproot trees and plants. Flooding can produce over-saturation and drown out vegetation.
Typhoons also deposit large quantities of salt onto plant life, which can have adverse
effects. According to the Green Fun website, trees and vegetation in urban areas are more
susceptible to typhoon damage, as they tend to grow in poor, restricted soil conditions.
Typhoons are also well-known for stirring up the seas. Individuals on watercraft or those
performing water operations (such as on oil rigs) not only have to contend with heavy
winds and rain, but they have to deal with massive waves and, in general, turbulent water
conditions. According to the Naval Historical Center website, typhoons have a history of
causing harm out at sea, and this was especially true during World War II, when Pacific
naval fleets were regularly battered by the storms. Today, fishing boats, cruise ships and
other vessels rely on sophisticated technology to help them predict and avoid the
devastating effects of typhoons.

Intertropical Convergence Zone

The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), known by sailors as the doldrums, is the area
encircling the earth near the equator where the northeast and southeast trade winds come
together.
The ITCZ was originally identified from the 1920s to the 1940s as the "Intertropical Front"
(ITF), but after the recognition in the 1940s and 1950s of the significance of wind field
convergence in tropical weather production, the term "ITCZ" was then applied. When it lies near
the equator, it is called the near-equatorial trough. Where the ITCZ is drawn into and merges
with a monsoonal circulation, it is sometimes referred to as a monsoon trough, a usage more

common in Australia and parts of Asia. In the seamen's speech the zone is referred to as the
doldrums because of its erratic weather patterns with stagnant calms and violent thunderstorms.
The ITCZ appears as a band of clouds, usually thunderstorms,that circle the globe near the
equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the trade winds move in a southwestern direction from the
northeast, while in the Southern Hemisphere, they move northwestward from the southeast.
When the ITCZ is positioned north or south of the equator, these directions change according to
the Coriolis effect imparted by the rotation of the earth. For instance, when the ITCZ is situated
north of the equator, the southeast trade wind changes to a southwest wind as it crosses the
equator. The ITCZ is formed by vertical motion largely appearing as convective activity
of thunderstorms driven by solar heating, which effectively draw air in; these are the trade
winds. The ITCZ is effectively a tracer of the ascending branch of the Hadley cell, and is wet.
The dry descending branch is the horse latitudes.
Doldrums
The doldrums is a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage, in which it
refers to those parts of the Atlantic Oceanand the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical
Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm.
The low pressure is caused by the expanding atmosphere due to heating at the equator, which
makes the air rise and travel north and south high in the atmosphere, until it subsides again in
the horse latitudes. Some of that air returns to the doldrums through the trade winds. This process
can lead to light or variable winds and more severe weather, in the form of squalls,
thunderstorms and hurricanes. The doldrums are also noted for calm periods when the winds
disappear altogether, trapping sail-powered boats for periods of days or weeks. The term appears
to have arisen in the 18th century; when cross-Equator sailing voyages became more
common.The word is derived from dold (an archaic term meaning "stupid") and -rum(s), a noun
suffix found in such words as "tantrum".

Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, or a thundershower, is
a type of stormcharacterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's
atmosphere known as thunder.[1]Thunderstorms occur in association with a type of cloud known
as a cumulonimbus. They are usually accompanied by strong winds, heavy rain and
sometimes snow, sleet, hail, or, in contrast, no precipitation at all. Thunderstorms may line up in
a series or rainband, known as a squall line. Strong or severe thunderstorms may rotate, known
as supercells. While most thunderstorms move with the mean wind flow through the layer of
the troposphere that they occupy, vertical wind shearcauses a deviation in their course at a right
angle to the wind shear direction.
Thunderstorms result from the rapid upward movement of warm, moist air.

Warm, moist updraft from a thunderstorm associated with a southward-moving frontal boundary.
Taken from Texarkana, Texas looking north.
They can occur inside warm, moist air masses and at fronts. As the warm, moist air moves
upward, it cools, condenses, and forms cumulonimbus clouds that can reach heights of over
20 km (12.45 miles). As the rising air reaches its dew point, water droplets and ice form and
begin falling the long distance through the clouds towards the Earth's surface. As the droplets
fall, they collide with other droplets and become larger. The falling droplets create a downdraft
of cold air and moisture that spreads out at the Earth's surface, causing the strong winds
commonly associated with thunderstorms, and occasionally fog.
Thunderstorms can generally form and develop in any particular geographic location, perhaps
most frequently within areas located at mid-latitude when warm moist air collides with cooler
air.[2] Thunderstorms are responsible for the development and formation of many severe weather
phenomena. Thunderstorms, and the phenomena that occur along with them, pose great hazards
to populations and landscapes. Damage that results from thunderstorms is mainly inflicted
by downburstwinds, large hailstones, and flash flooding caused by heavy precipitation. Stronger
thunderstorm cells are capable of producing tornadoes and waterspouts. A 1953 study found that
the average thunderstorm over several hours expends enough energy to equal 50 A-bombs of the
type that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan during World War Two. [3] There are four types of
thunderstorms: single-cell, multicell cluster, multicell lines, and supercells.
Tornado
TORNADO
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the
earth and a cumulonimbus cloudor, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often
referred to as twisters or cyclones,[1] although the wordcyclone is used in meteorology, in a
wider sense, to name any closed low pressure circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and
sizes, but they are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end
touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust. Most tornadoes have wind
speeds less than 110 miles per hour (177 km/h), are about 250 feet (76 m) across, and travel a
few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind
speeds of more than 300 miles per hour (483 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3.2 km) across,
and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).[2][3][4]
Various types of tornadoes include the landspout, multiple vortex tornado, and waterspout.
Waterspouts are characterized by a spiraling funnel-shaped wind current, connecting to a large
cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud. They are generally classified as non-supercellular tornadoes
that develop over bodies of water, but there is disagreement over whether to classify them as true
tornadoes. These spiraling columns of air frequently develop in tropical areas close to
the equator, and are less common at high latitudes.[5] Other tornado-like phenomena that exist in
nature include the gustnado, dust devil, fire whirls, and steam devil; downbursts are frequently
confused with tornadoes, though their action is dissimilar.

A figure of speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning something different than its literal
meaning. It can be ametaphor or simile that is designed to further explain a concept. Or, it can be
a different way of pronouncing a word or phrase such as with alliteration to give further meaning
or a different sound.
Examples of Figures of Speech
Using Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of beginning sounds. Examples are:

Sally sells seashells.

Walter wondered where Winnie was.

Blue baby bonnets

Nick needed notebooks.

Fred fried frogs.

Using Anaphora
Anaphora is a technique where several phrases or verses begin with the same word or words.
Examples are:

I came, I saw, I conquered - Julius Caesar

Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition! King John - William Shakespeare

We laughed, we loved, we sang

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, - Abraham
Lincoln

We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. - Winston Churchill

Using Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together. Examples are:


A - For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore (Poe)

E - Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee (Coleridge)

I - From what Ive tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire (Frost)

O - Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn (Wordsworth)

U - Uncertain rustling of each purple curtain (Poe)

Using a Euphemism
Euphemism is a word or phrase that replaces a word or phrase to make it more polite or pleasant.
Examples are:

A little thin on top instead of bald

Homeless instead of bum

Letting him go instead of fired him

Passed away instead of died

Put to sleep instead of euthanize

Using Hyperbole
Hyperbole uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect. Examples are:

Ive told you a hundred times

It cost a billion dollars

I could do this forever

She is older than dirt

Everybody knows that

Using Irony
Irony is using words where the meaning is the opposite of their usual meaning. Examples are:

After begging for a cat and finally getting one, she found out she was allergic.

A traffic cop gets suspended for not paying his parking tickets.

The Titanic was said to be unsinkable.

Dramatic irony is knowing the killer is hiding in a closet in a scary movie.

Naming a Chihuahua Brutus

Using Metaphor
Metaphor compares two unlike things or ideas. Examples are:

Heart of stone

Time is money

The world is a stage

She is a night owl

He is an ogre
Using Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it is describing. Examples are:

Whoosh

Splat

Buzz

Click

Oink
Using Oxymoron

Oxymoron is two contradictory terms used together. Examples are:

Peace force

Kosher ham

Jumbo shrimp

Small crowd

Free market
Using Personification
Personification is giving human qualities to non-living things or ideas. Examples are:

The flowers nodded

Snowflakes danced

Thunder grumbled

Fog crept in

The wind howled

Using Simile
Simile is a comparison between two unlike things. Examples are:

As slippery as an eel

Like peas in a pod

As blind as a bat

Eats like a pig

As wise as an owl
Using Understatement
Understatement is when something is said to make something appear less important or less
serious. Examples are:

It's just a scratch - referring to a large dent

It is sometimes dry and sandy - referring to the driest desert in the world

The weather is a little cooler today - referring to sub-zero temperatures

I wont say it was delicious - referring to terrible food

The tsunami caused some damage - referring to a huge tsunami

PREPOSITIONS
A preposition is a word which shows relationships among other words in the sentence.
The relationships include direction, place, time, cause, manner and amount. In the
sentence She went to the store, to is a preposition which shows direction. In the
sentence He came by bus, by is a preposition which shows manner. In the sentence They
will be here at three o'clock, at is a prepositionwhich shows time and in the sentence It is
under the table, under is a preposition which shows place.
A preposition always goes with a noun or pronoun which is called the object of the
preposition. The preposition is almost always before the noun or pronoun and that is why
it is called apreposition. The preposition and the object of the preposition together are
called a prepositional phrase. The following chart shows the prepositions, objects of the
preposition, and prepositional phrases of the sentences above.
Preposition
to

Object of the Preposition

the store

Prepositional Phrase
to the store

by
bus
by bus
at
three o'clock
at three o'clock
under
the table
under the table
Prepositional phrases are like idioms and are best learned through listening to and
reading as much as possible. Below are some
common prepositions of time and place and examples of their use.
Prepositions of time:
at two o'clock
on Wednesday
in an hour, in January; in 1992
for a day
Prepositions of place:
at my house
in New York, in my hand
on the table
near the library
across the street
under the bed
between the books

Prepositional Phrase
A prepositional phrase is phrase that starts with a preposition and ends with noun (or a pronoun).
For example:

It is a little bit more complicated than shown above because the noun can be anything that plays

the role of a noun. For example:

from her
(the "noun" is a pronoun)

from sleeping
(the noun is a gerund, i.e., a verbal noun)

from the man across the street

(the noun is a noun phrase)

from what he said

(the noun is a noun clause)
The words after the preposition (shown in bold above) are known as the object of a preposition.
There will often be modifiers in the object of the preposition making it a noun phrase. For
example:

with John
(There are no modifiers in this example. Compare it to the next example.)

with the wonderful John

(With the modifiers the and wonderful, the object of the preposition is now a noun phrase.)
Here is another example:

without trying
(There are no modifiers in this example. The object of the preposition is a noun. In this case,
it's a gerund. Compare it to the next example.)

without overly trying

(With the modifier overly, the object of the preposition is a noun phrase.)
Prepositional Phrases Function As Adjectives or Adverbs
Here are some more examples of prepositional phrases. In each example, the prepositional
phrase is shaded with the preposition in bold. Be aware that prepositional phrases function as
adjectives or adverbs.
Prepositional phrases functioning as adjectives:

Please read the message from Lee.

(The prepositional phrase describes the noun message.)

The man on the radio has a boring voice.

(The prepositional phrase describes the noun man.)

May I see one of the brown ones?

(The prepositional phrase describes the pronoun one.)
Prepositional phrases functioning as adverbs:

Lee caught a small mackerel with utmost pride.

(The prepositional phrase modifies the verb caught. It is an adverb of manner; i.e., it tells
us how he caught it.)

Before the war, Lee played football for Barnstoneworth United.

(The prepositional phrase modifies the verb played. It is an adverb of time; i.e., it tells
us when he played.)

Lee is tired from the hike.

(The prepositional phrase modifies the verb is. It is an adverb of reason; i.e., it tells us why he
is tired.)

Lee lives in that fridge.

(The prepositional phrase modifies the verb lives. It is an adverb of place; i.e., it tells
us where he lives.)