Super Typhoon Ragasa Strongest of 2025

[Randy Zipser]

The following article has just been published by the BBC about Super Typhoon Ragasa, the strongest so far in the western Pacific basin this season. Gusts of 177mph were recorded yesterday. It is crossing the South China Sea and is expected to make landfall tomorrow south of Hong Kong and continue westward toward Vietnam. I was wondering whether the 5,000 mile long "blob of hot water" in the North Pacific Basin (reported recently in several media) might have been a contributing factor to the strength of this typhoon?

Typhoon Ragasa: Hong Kong and south China braces as super typhoon nears

 

[William Monfredo]

I usually do not read most weather stories from the mainstream media; I generally try to figure it out myself.
While I won't speak for a given typhoon, I will note some observations from several tropical-cyclone seasons.
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One of the situations WeatherBell Analytics use...the distorted pattern of SST warm-anomalies, my example above.
We've had situations in both basins where the temperature anomalies measure warmer to the north & less or none south.
Overall, this "backwards" setup has not proven conducive to surface convergence and rising air that aids in cyclone formation.
In fact, "warmer over cooler" likely plays a hindering role, causing conditions & seasons to rate far less than stellar with lower ACE.

 

[Randy Zipser]

Here is an update story from MSN about Super Typhoon Ragasa's landfall in China. Each slide at the bottom has a part of the story.

Super Typhoon Ragasa Slams Into China, Forcing 400,000 to Evacuate

 

[Randy Zipser]

For further reference, this is an article from San Francisco on September 23rd about the Pacific Ocean sea-surface temperature anomaly referenced above:

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/arti...-21063998.php?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

 

[Boris Konon]

For further reference, this is an article from San Francisco on September 23rd about the Pacific Ocean sea-surface temperature anomaly referenced above:

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/arti...-21063998.php?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

Of note for Ragasa:

No major typhoons (100 kt+) formed until 9/20 in 2025 in the NW Pacific basin. This is the second latest on record for this tropical basin since 1945. Agnes on 9/21/1974 is the record.

Do you ever hear about this in the MSM? Of course not! It goes against the narrative. But flip around, if was were record amount of major typhoons through mid-Sep, it would be all over the place, and used as "proof."

This is the fundamental problem w/ a lot of the MSM today, it is biased in reporting when it comes to wx/climate. All that gets reported is slanted in one direction. This is problem. Omitting, ignoring, or withholding objective key facts is no different than lying. It gives a skewed perception of reality.

Present all facts in an unbiased manner so the public is completely informed, and then can make their own views and conclusions about things.

 

[Randy Zipser]

This is the fundamental problem w/ a lot of the MSM today, it is biased in reporting when it comes to wx/climate. All that gets reported is slanted in one direction. This is problem. Omitting, ignoring, or withholding objective key facts is no different than lying. It gives a skewed perception of reality.

I am curious about your statement above.

If ALL main-stream media (which I presume also includes the entire Internet and all social-media platforms in existence) has some nefarious, undefined, indeterminate "agenda" to to lie to (or brainwash) all human beings on earth, what would be their ultimate purpose or endgame? It is that very same public which pays for the services these media provide, whether it be through patronizing advertisers who run commercials the air or by direct investment in their corporate stocks if publicly traded. Either way, the moguls who own the big global media empires are already gazillionaires, so their "greed," it would seem, has diminishing returns after some point (which they've long passed).

It seems to me that "big" media would have nothing to lose (except maybe ratings) if they just presented to their viewing audiences factual, independently verifiable information 100% of the time, however mundane or boring to watch on a typical, normal day. Sensationalized stories should be the exception, not the norm, in everyday life for all human beings. All media would be telling the same story without significant differences and without subtle corporate-cultural nuances or political biases. The end result: The public's trust in the entire media (print and electronic) industry is uplifted and restored over time! Otherwise, the industry is "cutting off its nose to spite its face," as the saying goes!

By the way, when it comes to all natural disasters, including major tornado outbreaks and hurricane landfalls, the public demands, expects, and should always get "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!" The NWS, SPC, and NHC all do a good job of communicating timely, accurate information via these media to the public they serve. They are acutely aware that lives are at stake and depend on them! I rest my case...