American storm chaser Josh Morgerman has clarified what he called misinformation regarding the Sierra Madre mountain range amid Typhoon Uwan.
In a Facebook post on November 10, Morgerman said the Sierra Madre mountains weaken typhoons only after they make landfall on Luzon’s east coast and do not shield the region from the initial impact.
“Many folks are posting misinformation about the Sierra Madre Mountains in the Philippines. Let me set the record straight: The Sierra Madre chain weakens typhoons *after* they make landfall on the east coast of Luzon. These mountains do *not* protect the east coast of Luzon, which regularly experiences some of the strongest tropical cyclone impacts in the world”, he wrote.
Morgerman, currently in the Philippines to document Typhoon Uwan, emphasized that the belief in the mountains as a full shield against storms is inaccurate.
The renowned storm chaser is a Harvard graduate and WeatherNation correspondent. He has tracked over 80 cyclones worldwide, including Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013 and Super Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) in 2018.
