Super typhoon storm and a strange phenomenon called Fujiwhara

There have been many sci-fi movies built on the phenomenon of fusing two super storms. However, in reality, this phenomenon is much more complicated than what is described in the film.

The Fujiwhara effect was named after Dr. Sakarei Fujiwhara, a Japanese meteorologist who first observed the phenomenon of the two-storm interference , and described it in 1921.

According to Fujiwhara, two or more tropical depressions will only " interact" if they are 1,900km or more apart.

Interference phenomenon 2 or more storms will occur when they form close to each other.

Meanwhile, the two storms will 'interact' whenever the distance between them drops below 1,400km, and are likely to merge into one if they are 300km apart.

Interference phenomenon 2 or more storms will occur when they form near each other, or intersect on the way to move.

So what happens when storms collide? Do they merge into a super typhoon? Or will a big storm eliminate a small storm?

According to the theory of the Fujiwhara effect:

1. If one of the two storms is weaker than the other, the small storm will usually revolve around a large storm.
2. If the two storms were equally strong, they would swing around the intersection.
3. If two equally powerful storms come together at distances less than 300km, they are likely to merge into a super typhoon.

For example, during the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Iris 'interacted' with Hurricane Humberto, then continued to 'merge' with tropical storm Karen.

In the fall of 2005, Hurricane Wilma sucked up tropical storm Alpha shortly after sweeping across South Florida.

One of the most famous examples of the Fujiwhara phenomenon is the 1991 "Perfect Storm," formed by a mass of cold air that just left the US East Coast, a low-lying area east of Nova Scotia and a typhoon. Grace's name.

However, there are also some isolated cases where two storms move so close that the weaker one is 'knocked out' and is forced to change direction. For example, Hurricane Hilary and Irwin in July 2017.