天有不測風雲。政治往往出人意表。誰料到：Hurricane Sandy happened a week before the American presidential election。
WIND is a moving current of air under the ground。We say high / strong wind 大 風 / 強風，gale-force wind 大級別的風，a biting wind 寒冷刺骨的北風，a gust of wind一陣風。
WIND 的習慣說法多樣化：go like the wind 奔跑如飛, get wind of 風聞, in the wind即將發生，在醞釀中，,know which way the wind blows視察風向才見機行事，throw caution to the wind不顧危險，魯莽行事，take the wind out of your sails 出其不意地打擊你的信心，sail close to the wind 冒大風險，去幹危險或可能違法的事。
風的種類繁多，從天文台發出的 meteorological terms 氣象學術語，可見端倪。
先說不同類型的旋風 ：
旋風 a whirlwind is a general name。 Whirlwind 是 tornado 的一種，但比較 tornado 蔓延的速度慢、毀滅性較小、持續的時間較短。
龍捲風 tornado 在陸地上刮過，直徑小，形似漏斗的狂風，是美洲典型的風種。A twister is also a common popular name for a tornado, especially in the central plains。
颱風 cyclone 是氣旋，可指 hurricane 或 typhoon which is a cyclone in the western Pacific 西太平洋和附近地區。Both are types of tropical storms。
颶風 hurricane 通常指海上的烈風，帶有地方性，多指西印度洋群島中這類的旋風。也是Beaufort wind scale 蒲福風級上指12級或以上的風，其風速達到每小時 64至71海里。
海龍卷 waterspout 是水面上刮起的龍捲風。
其他風種有：
季風 a monsoon is a period of heavy wind and rain in particular countries。
狂風 a squall is a sudden and violent wind of short duration often accompanied by rain or snow。
大風雪a blizzard is a snow storm。
根據國際公認的 BEAUFORT SCALE FOR WIND STRENGTH, 蒲福風級表，風的 wind force 強度，scales 級數，velocity, speed in mph 風速，pressure 風壓，都有科學的標準和規範：
0級 calm無風/1 light air軟風/2 light breeze輕風/3 gentle breeze微風/4 moderate breeze和風/5 fresh breeze清風/6 strong breeze強風/7 moderate gale疾風/8 fresh gale大風/9 strong gale烈風/10 storm 狂風/11 violent storm 暴風/12-17級 hurricane 颶風。
談到惡劣天氣，in extreme weather, we say heavy storm 狂風暴雨，thunderstorm 雷暴，snowstorm 大風雪，a violent tempest 大風暴。
STORMY / TEMPESTUOUS 這兩個形容詞意義相近，用法稍有不同 ：
Both words can refer to turbulent weather, but also to human emotion。
Tempestuous in both cases suggests greater force or intensity。Tempestuous also suggests forceful or disordered emotional intensity, e.g. a tempestuous woman一個性格暴燥的女人，a brief and tempestuous love affair一場短暫而引起軒然大波的風流韻事; in art , tempestuous can suggest the running of emotions at their highest pitch e.g. a tempestuous piano concerto of Beethoven貝多芬感情澎湃的一首鋼琴協奏曲。
Stormy indicates great agitation。例子: a stormy weather狂風暴雨的天氣，a stormy argument激烈的爭論，a stormy debate 唇槍舌劍的辯論，a stormy relationship 衝突不斷的關係，一對歡喜冤家吵鬧後和好如初：stormy lovers’ quarrels end in reconciliation。
最常見的 STORM IDIOMS，有下列幾個 ：Weather a storm 平安地渡過難關 you get through a crisis or hard times。 You can also say ride out the storm。Take by storm風靡某地 e.g. A new play took New York City by storm. 一齣新戲在紐約上演，大獲成功，使觀眾傾倒喝釆。Storm in a teacup 小題大作，茶杯裏的風波。Any port in a storm 飢不擇食，有病亂投醫。Calm before the storm 暴風雨前的平靜，大動蕩或激烈辯論前寧靜的時刻。
還有字面近似，意義風馬牛不相及的 buzzword 時髦流行語 “perfect storm” 。
A perfect storm refers to an occasion when several bad things happen at the same time, creating a situation that could not be worse 禍不單行，屋漏更偏逢夜雨。The term “perfect storm” is nearly synonymous with “worst-case scenario.” 最壞情況。The term is also used to describe an actual phenomenon that happens to occur in a confluence of various factors, resulting in an event of unusual magnitude 多種因素匯合釀成的極壞現象。Hurricane was a ‘perfect political storm’ 是《Toronto Star》Tony Burman 一篇文章的標題，有關總統大選投票前一周，Sandy Superstorm 桑迪「科學怪風」侵襲美國東岸，幾種政治因素湊合在一起，情況令人尋味。
封面圖片：亞新社
逢星期二、五刊登。
