Typhoon Sepat now rated (on CIMSS site) as Category 5 on Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale – strongest level there is. Few Cat 5 storms have even hit US, say: even Andrew was borderline 4 or 5, Katrina Cat 3 as it hit New Orleans, tho its main damage was thro floods rather than winds.
Still seems bound for s Taiwan, then on to se China, but wouldn’t need much of a turn to west to blast us w some powerful winds and rain (tho direct hit still looks improbable).
Wind speeds of storms can fluctuate: Katrina reached Category 5 over the sea.
Seems to me, though, that these monster storms retain energy, even if max sustained winds drop; energy spreading into more general winds, and rainfall.
If this were bound for the US, would see it in news – maybe even as headline story, and as it approached shore, lines of vehicles heading away from coast.
But hey, it’s a typhoon and in Asia, so not such a big deal…
(As I recall, a few years ago the SCM Post carried front page story w satellite photo re hurricane bound for US; at the time, a storm named York was moving towards us. The hurricane caused little trouble; York became only typhoon to directly hit HK in recent years. [somewhere around Category 1 – way short of Sepat]) [img width=420]https://www.hkoutdoors.com/components/com_joomlaboard/uploaded/images/sepatwinds16aug07.GIF[/img]