In Zhejiang Province, at the Meteorological Bureau.
Zhang Yiyang, who was staring at the typhoon dynamics through real-time satellite imagery, suddenly froze. Then he could not help leaning forward and blinking, as if confirming he had not seen wrong.
“What is wrong?” asked Mo Haoxuan, who was responsible for monitoring data nearby, turning back.
“A slightly smaller typhoon has actually formed in the centre of Dragonfly!”
“You must be joking,” Mo Haoxuan said dismissively. “How can there be a typhoon nested inside a typhoon? It is like Russian nesting dolls. Was it a small gap in the overall cloud mass near the eye? You saw it wrong.”
Zhang Yiyang’s face twisted. Ten years of studying meteorology told him that a typhoon within a typhoon was a joke, but the satellite cloud image in front of him clearly showed it.
Had the camera on the satellite malfunctioned?
Or was there an error in data transmission?
While Zhang Yiyang was doubting himself, another staff member who was in contact with the monitoring ship suddenly said, “Report from Ship 528: wind force near Dragonfly’s eye has suddenly increased to level eighteen.”
“Wind force suddenly increased?”
Zhang Yiyang turned back, looked at the display screen, and saw the small cyclone about five kilometres in diameter near the northern edge of the main eye, which had a diameter of over thirty kilometres. He subconsciously reported it.
“Report! A small cyclone five kilometres in diameter has suddenly formed near the northern edge inside the typhoon eye. Wind direction is consistent with the typhoon. Suspected to be related to the sudden strengthening of wind force near the eye.”
All staff and experts who received this report were stunned.
A typhoon nested in a typhoon? This does not conform to the laws of meteorological science!
Then Zhang Yiyang immediately sent the real-time satellite cloud image to the work group.
In less than ten minutes, a group of Meteorological Bureau leaders and related flood control staff arrived at the satellite monitoring room.
Zhang Yiyang had already replaced the infrared image on the large screen above the monitoring room with the real-time satellite cloud image.
“What is this thing?” one staff member could not help asking.
“Another small typhoon generated inside the eye?” a leader frowned.
“How is that possible?” a meteorological expert decisively concluded. “It is impossible for another typhoon to form inside the eye!”
“Then what is going on?”
The meteorological expert, “…”
“This is… about to merge?” someone stared at the satellite cloud image.
“Two typhoons combining into one?”
“No wonder the wind force has increased greatly. This is bad. The typhoon’s wind force and range will definitely expand. The warning level needs to be raised!” another person said worriedly. “This time it is really trouble…”
Zhang Yiyang, staring at the satellite cloud image, was also puzzled.
“Five minutes ago, this small cyclone had already approached the northern side of the eye. Though it strengthened the wind near the eye, there were no signs of merging. The situation five minutes ago is almost the same as now.”
“Ah?”
“What is the situation?”
Everyone was laymen and just looked at the satellite cloud image. The leading official asked, “Just tell us what result this will cause.”
Zhang Yiyang was speechless. He had never seen this meteorological phenomenon. How could he know what result it would cause?
Then everyone’s attention focused on the several experts in the Meteorological Bureau.
The meteorological experts, “…”
“Report! Report! Typhoon Dragonfly’s movement path has deviated!”
“What?”
Everyone suddenly turned their heads. The Meteorological Bureau director immediately said, “Project the analysis map onto the large screen!”
The next moment, the large screen changed to a black background with green line computational analysis map.
“The green dashed line is the typhoon path we previously calculated and simulated,” the Meteorological Bureau staff introduced. A green dashed line drew an arc from the typhoon,, landing exactly near Xiang County in Zhejiang Province.
However, the red dot representing the typhoon eye position on the large screen had already deviated from the original track, turning northward. Though the distance was short, the deviation was obvious.
“It turned?” The leaders were both surprised and delighted.
“And the amplitude is large. Um, and it is getting larger,” the staff said, looking baffled. “Now its path deviation forms nearly a twenty-degree angle with the previous simulated path.”
“This is unscientific!” another meteorological expert exclaimed.
All Meteorological Bureau staff looked baffled at the large screen, watching the red dot continue to deviate northward.
They had never seen such a sharp turn over such a short distance in their lives.
“Impossible?”
“How can it turn so sharply?”
The leaders, not fully understanding, asked the Meteorological Bureau director, “Is there a problem?”
The Meteorological Bureau director was of course an expert, so he gave an example. “If you are driving at one hundred and eighty kilometres per hour, can you make a right-angle turn?”
“I do not want to die!” the leader retorted, understanding the meaning. “Then why is this happening?”
The Meteorological Bureau director could only shake his head. “I do not know either…”
“That…” Zhang Yiyang weakly pointed to the satellite cloud image that had been moved to a small screen nearby. “Could it be related to this smaller typhoon?”
“What does it have to…” Another meteorologist started saying halfway, then involuntarily froze.
All science graduates, they could not possibly lack such basic mechanics knowledge.
The meteorological expert said incredulously, “You mean this small typhoon has been applying a northward force to the main typhoon from inside the eye?”
“This is impossible!”
“Then how do you explain this phenomenon?”
“Not to mention that, I do not even understand how that small typhoon formed!”
While several people were still arguing, another staff member’s exclamation came from nearby. “Monitoring Ship 528 is on the newly generated path of the typhoon!”
“What is the situation?”
“What is going on?”
“Ship 528 has been conducting real-time monitoring in the north of the typhoon, not far away, but its original path did not overlap with the typhoon’s!”
That staff member quickly pulled up the position of the meteorological monitoring ship.
“But the typhoon turned too sharply! If following the new path, Ship 528 has already entered the level ten wind range!”
“Hurry and sail out!” the leading official urgently shouted.
“It is turning around! Ship 528 was just sailing westward, but the typhoon has already hit from the side. Whether accelerating or turning, they cannot avoid it completely. They can only make an emergency turn, but whether they can escape depends on luck!”
…
On Meteorological Monitoring Ship 528.
When they discovered the typhoon had suddenly turned, they had already started turning with it. But they never expected the typhoon to turn so sharply.
You should know, they had been sailing in the level seven wind zone. The more severe wind zones were not far away.
Normally, their sailing direction was parallel to the typhoon eye’s movement direction. They could completely control their relative distance to the eye, ensuring their safety.
But…
Why did this typhoon not play by the rules!?
