Super Typhoon Leon
About a week before my flight to Taiwan I noticed that the forecast for Taipei had changed rather dramatically. Up until then the forecast called for a lot of sun for almost the full month of November, but now the prediction was clouds and rain almost every single day. It did not take long for me to figure out why.. There was an unexpected super typhoon heading towards Taiwan.
Known internationally as Typhoon Kong-Rey and in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Leon, it made landfall in south-eastern Taiwan about 4 days before my flight was due to depart.
One of the reasons I was going to Taiwan in November was because on paper this was one of the best months to visit the country. Weather is supposed to be great and typhoon season is supposed to be well over.
This was the first typhoon in Taiwan's
recorded history to make landfall in November, and the largest typhoon to hit the island in decades. A freak unexpected storm due to hit the island days before my flight was due to depart. At first I wasn't really sure exactly how it would impact my trip, but the timing of it all concerned me.
According to my research Taiwan was used to and ready for typhoons, including powerful ones like this one. It did not seem probable that my flight would be impacted, as historically only flights the day of seemed to get cancelled. Still, I assumed there would be assorted damage across the country and that my trip would be impacted in some way or other.
What made it weirder is that in the Philippines they gave the typhoon the same name as my late father (Leon). It took me a couple days to notice that, as most publications used the other name.. I followed news of the typhoon every single day though and eventually came across an article calling it Super Typhoon Leon. That hit me in ways I can't really describe very well. It seemed like a weird coincidence... but it somehow made me feel better about the whole thing. Suddenly me flying to Taiwan started feeling a lot more real and grounded and not just like a vague idea in my head or on a map. And there was a new emotional component to it, even before I arrived.
Nevertheless these thoughts continued to float around in my head. What are the odds that this unexpected storm would show up just days before my trip? How lucky was I that it did not actually make landfall a bit closer to when my flight was due to land? What were the odds that it would be named after my dad?
I followed the news of the typhoon's landfall intently. It caused 3 deaths, 600+ injuries, 10m waves, floods, and $150 million USD in damage. A day after landfall life in Taiwan seemed to return more or less to normal though.. 48 hours after landfall it was clear that impact to me personally was going to be minimal. It forced me to cut short my plans for my initial stay in Taipei though. Initially I wanted to book a central Taipei hotel for 7-10 days, but the weather forecast wasn't looking very good! Clouds and rain every single day? Yet only 100-200km to the south, the forecast was looking a bit less gloomy. I decided to book the initial hotel for 4 days and then decide if I was going to stay longer or if I should head south instead. Maybe the forecast would change?
You can perhaps see from the first few pictures that it was grey and cloudy. Rain wasn't really a problem, but it was continually cloudy with occasional drizzle coming down. I could explore the city no problem, but going up to the top of Taipei 101 did not make much sense at the time. Some of the hikes I had planned also had to be postponed - hiking right after a super typhoon was probably not a good idea, due to the possibility of landslides. There was also the possibility of some trails having branches and other debris in the way.. and I would have much rather seen the views from the lookout points on a clear day instead.
This is basically why I did not go to the top of Taipei 101 right away. I figured I would return to the city later and hope for sunnier skies then. As for the typhoon being named after my dad, the occasional drizzle during my first couple days in Taipei made me think of him. It's like a part of him was there on the trip with me, which gave me comfort.