【Roman Perez Jr. Archives】

Just when you think your greatest achievements are Roman Perez Jr. Archivesbehind you, the best (or worst) may still be ahead. At least that's the case with Super Typhoon Lan, which hit Tokyo over the weekend as a Category 2 storm, and then lost its tropical characteristics while moving out into the North Pacific Ocean.

Yet by Tuesday, the storm had been absorbed into a rapidly developing, non-tropical low pressure system, in an atmospheric corporate merger with maximum synergy. The broader storm then exploded in intensity, feeding off differences in air masses and upper level energy. By Tuesday, the storm enveloped much of the Bering Sea between Russia and Alaska.

SEE ALSO: Footage shows ferocious winds, heavy floods caused by Typhoon Lan

The Ocean Prediction Center, which is part of the National Weather Service, reported that the storm is producing 60-foot-plus seas and winds gusting above 75 miles per hour, which is considered hurricane force.

While powerful storms off the Alaskan coast are typical for the fall and winter, this ex-typhoon version of Lan, let's call it Lan 2.0, is remarkably strong even in that context. Computer model and observational data peg the minimum central air pressure near the storm's center at between 936 to 938 millibars, or about 27.64 inches of mercury.

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In general, the lower the air pressure, the stronger the storm. For comparison, Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall as a "post-tropical storm" in New Jersey on Oct. 25, 2012, had a minimum central pressure of about 948 millibars at landfall, which was a record low for that area.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Typhoon Lan, and its ex-typhoon phase, is that as the storm recurved out to sea, it delivered a jolt of energy to the North Pacific jet stream. This narrow corridor of fast-moving air generally flows from west to east across the Northern Hemisphere, and it serves as a storm superhighway, helping to generate and steer storm systems and separate air masses.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Recurving typhoons in the North Pacific, such as the typhoon formerly known as Lan, tend to be instigators of major changes in weather patterns across the Pacific, North America, and even Europe.

The added energy that this storm provided to the jet stream is altering the jet stream's shape, and will help a trough, or dip, in the jet to develop across much of the eastern U.S. in late October into early November. This should bring the coldest air of the season so far, including chances for the first snow to the Midwest and possibly parts of the Appalachians.

What had been a rather tame, flat west-to-east airflow across the Pacific is already becoming more wavy, which yields more storms and sharp changes in air masses downstream.

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