Nice to see others out there

Luckily, I suppose, this storm turned a bit south. The forecast track a couple days ago had it nailing us in Manila with a direct hit. Today we are experiencing effects of the storm. We are getting rain bands every so often and some gusty winds. Unfortunately there is no place for me to go that is unprotected..but with my handheld station I have recorded as high as a 26.5 mph wind in a protected area.

The pressure is dropping in Manila. Yesterday morning it was 1007, last night on the way to work 1000, this morning down to 998. Dew point is a whopping 78 and outside temperature is 79.

I'm staying on the 16th floor of the Mandarin Oriental and I have a great view of the city. Lights are flickering on occasion but that's about it here.

I am still amazed by the difference between the JTWC and the local weather agency. The local agency last night was forecasting for this thing to recurve before ever hitting land and spinning out to sea in the Pacific. Not a single model was forecasting that. Also the local agency continues to call this a tropical storm and downplays the wind speed. I know if I'm getting 26.5 mph winds in a protected area over 200 miles from the center...they are getting a LOT more down there.

Talking to locals they say basically it never is forecasted for any typhoon to hit Manila. May I quote one..."if it does...surprise!" My theory is basically there is nowhere to go here so alerting the public would probably do nothing more than cause panic. Any thoughts?

Oh PS...I work here about 1/4 of the year, the rest of the time I live in Indianapolis. So far I've been here for a 5.8 earthquake, a coup attempt, a stampeed, a mudslide and now...a typhoon.