Typhoon Fung-Wong, locally known as Uwan, is the second in a week to affect the Philippines after making landfall on Sunday evening. The weather system prompted warnings for heavy rainfall and life-threatening storm surges across much of the country, with sustained winds of 115mph (185km/h) and gusts of about 140mph recorded on Sunday by the national meteorological agency.
By the time Fung-Wong moves past the Philippines early this week, more than 200mm of rainfall is expected to have fallen on Luzon, the country’s most populous island.
This follows Typhoon Kalmaegi, which struck less than a week ago and left at least 224 people dead in the Philippines. The arrival of Typhoon Fung-Wong has forced authorities to suspend rescue operations for more than 100 missing people.
After crossing Luzon, Fung-Wong is expected to move north-westwards into the South China Sea by Tuesday, before veering north towards Taiwan. Although there is some variability in its track, Taiwan is likely to face heavy rain, strong winds and flooding midweek.
Meanwhile, parts of south-western Europe will experience heavy rain, particularly across the Iberian peninsula. Cumulative rainfall by the end of the week will exceed 100mm across western Portugal and Spain’s Galicia region, with totals exceeding 200mm more locally. Strong winds are also expected on Tuesday as gusts top 60mph.
Across the Atlantic, the south-eastern US is braced for its first significant cold spell of the season as polar air pushes south. Temperatures in northern Florida are expected to drop about 15C (30F) below the average for the time of year. After a warm weekend – with highs in the Florida panhandle approaching 30C on Saturday – a plunge to about 0C 7am local time on Tuesday will come as a shock.
One striking – and unusual – consequence of this sharp temperature drop is that local iguanas are expected to succumb to the frigid conditions and fall from the trees where they usually perch. As cold-blooded reptiles, iguanas become temporarily paralysed when temperatures dip below 10C, causing them to lose their grip. Authorities have issued warnings, particularly for Tuesday morning, urging people to watch out for falling iguanas from trees and other unexpected places.
