Massive Typhoon Megi engulfs Taiwan, aims at Chinese mainland next
Typhoon Megi, an unusually large storm, is about to wrap the entirety of Taiwan within its swirling winds, high waves and flooding rains.
The storm, which was packing maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour as of Monday evening eastern time, was poised to make landfall along Taiwan's east-central coast on mid-to-late afternoon Tuesday, local time. This makes it a Category 3-equivalent storm.
The storm is the fifth to make landfall in Taiwan (or come close enough to affect the island) so far this year.
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The biggest risk from the storm may be heavy rainfall, since Taiwan's mountainous terrain is notorious for wringing out many feet of rainfall from landfalling storms.
Social media posts from Taiwan on Tuesday morning show the winds already intensifying, high waves pounding the coastline, and heavy rain beginning to fall.
The storm is not likely to let up in Taiwan until sometime on Wednesday, due to its unusually expansive size. The storm is larger than typical western Pacific typhoons, which means it will spread its wrath over a wider area, and that its winds are pushing more water -- both in the ocean and in the air -- toward landfall.
Satellite imagery and radar scans show the storm intensifying shortly before landfall, raising the possibility it could hit land as a Category 4 super typhoon.
High winds and heavy rains are affecting Taipei, but the heaviest rainfall is likely in the mountains, where air gets extra lift due to the terrain. The strongest winds from the storm are also likely to just miss Taipei, but because the storm's wind field is so large, the city may experience damaging winds for a time on Tuesday.
After Typhoon Megi crosses Taiwan, it will emerge as a weaker storm that will then strike the Chinese mainland on Sept. 28.
Andrew Freedman is Mashable's Senior Editor for Science and Special Projects. Prior to working at Mashable, Freedman was a Senior Science writer for Climate Central. He has also worked as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Greenwire/E&E Daily. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, online at The Weather Channel, and washingtonpost.com, where he wrote a weekly climate science column for the "Capital Weather Gang" blog. He has provided commentary on climate science and policy for Sky News, CBC Radio, NPR, Al Jazeera, Sirius XM Radio, PBS NewsHour, and other national and international outlets. He holds a Masters in Climate and Society from Columbia University, and a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
