2008 Pacific typhoon season
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it runs year-round in 2008, but most tropical cyclone
s tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and west of the International Date Line
. Storms that form east of the date line and north of the equator are called hurricanes; see 2008 Pacific hurricane season
. Tropical storms formed in the entire Western North Pacific basin are assigned a name by the Japan Meteorological Agency
. Tropical depressions formed in this basin are given a number with a "W" suffix by the United States' Joint Typhoon Warning Center
. In addition, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
(PAGASA) assigns names to tropical cyclones (including tropical depressions) that enter or form in the Philippine area of responsibility. These names, however, are not in common use outside of the Philippines.
Each season several national meteorological services and scientific agencies forecast either the expected amount tropical cyclones, tropical storms, and typhoons forming in a season and/or how many tropical cyclones will affect a country or territory.
, the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research or the Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacific Climate Impact Centre (GCACIC), both of the City University of Hong Kong
have issued forecasts of activity
for each upcoming typhoon season. Forecasts are issued in April and June of each year and predict how many tropical cyclones, tropical storms, and typhoons there will be in a season. This season, the GCACIC is predicting a slightly more active than usual season. An average season, according to the GCACIC, has 31 tropical cyclones, 27 named storms, and 17 typhoons. In its April forecast, the GCACIC predicted 33 total tropical cyclones, 30 named storms, and 19 typhoons before predicting the same number of systems, tropical storms, and typhoons in its June forecast.
formed in April to the east of Mindanao. During May as a result of convection being enhanced within the Philippine sea and the South China Sea four named storms formed which along with 1971 and 1980 was the joint highest incidence in May since 1951. Between June and October, the region was considered to be very quiet by the JMA as they only named 13 tropical cyclones. In November and December, only four tropical cyclones were named by the JMA and all four formed within the Philippine sea and the South China Sea.
about 890 km (553 mi) to the southeast of Vietnam. The JTWC reported that the disturbance's low level circulation center had a broad low level circulation center with deep convection located to the northern quadrant and was located within an area of low vertical wind shear. This came as the JMA designated the system as a minor tropical depression. The minor depression intensified throughout the day and reached its peak intensity with winds of 55 km/h (35 mph) early on January 23. However, shortly after reaching its peak intensity, it degenerated into an area of low pressure and the JMA issued their final advisory on the system as it drifted towards the west. However the JTWC kept monitoring it as a tropical disturbance until late the next day after it had made landfall in Vietnam.
and Yap
. Early on April 13, a low-level circulation developed near Mindanao
. The JMA designated the system as a minor tropical depression on the same day, and PAGASA began warning on the system, naming it Tropical Depression "Ambo". The low continued to get better organized and early on April 14, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 02W, which was located about north of Zamboanga City
, Philippines
. Later that day, the agency upgraded it to tropical storm status, based on satellite intensity estimates. The JMA upgraded the system to a tropical storm, naming it Neoguri, the next day. Early April 16, the system was upgraded to severe tropical storm status, and then reached typhoon status a few hours later. The typhoon continued north, weakening as it did so. The cyclone made landfall as a weak tropical storm on Guangdong
province in southern China, and the final advisories from both agencies were issued shortly after.
As the typhoon approached and passed Hainan Province, about 120,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas. According to the China Meteorological Administration
, it was the earliest in the year a tropical cyclone had ever impacted China (the old record was for Typhoon Wanda on May 3, 1971).
42,000 residents were displaced in the aftermath of Neoguri. 18 Chinese fisherman and 22 Vietnamese fisherman remain missing due to the storm. Three fatalities have been confirmed in China, two due to a road being covered in a mud flow, and another due to winds blowing a sheet of aluminum into a person, throwing them off the roof of a stadium.
designated an area of low pressure which was about 790 km east of Mindanao as Tropical Depression Butchoy. Around the same time the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) also designated the area of low pressure as a Tropical depression with the JTWC assigning the number 03W to the depression.
Later that day the JMA upgraded the Tropical Depression to Tropical Storm status with RSMC Tokyo assigning the name Rammasun to the storm. It quickly organized, intensifying into a typhoon on May 9. Rapid intensification continued and it strengthened into a Category 4-equivalent typhoon by early on May 10, and a super typhoon by midday.
Rammasun continued on a northerly path, and reached a peak of 105 knots (205.8 km/h) and 915 hPa
on May 10. Soon after, the typhoon began slowly weakening. The JTWC downgraded it to a typhoon on May 11. On May 12, the weakening became more rapid, and the JMA downgraded the system to a severe tropical storm, while the JTWC issued its last advisory, noting that it was extratropical. The JMA, however, held onto Rammasun until early May 13, when it downgraded the cyclone to a low and issued its final advisory. Though it never hit land, it was the second strongest May typhoon in recorded history, behind Typhoon Lola of 1986.
Rammasun brushed the Japanese coastline as it became extratropical on May 13 delivering strong winds and high waves. Along with moderate to heavy rain, winds gusted up to 52 mph (83 km/h) as the storm moved out to sea.
A strong storm from the "tail" of Rammasun struck the Philippines as it passed south of Japan. The winds brought by the storm caused severe damage to some buildings and numerous trees some weighing tonnes were uprooted. The damage may have been due to a possible tornado but there is no clarification for this possibility. At least 40 people were injured and damage totaled to 11 million PHP ($280,000 USD).
on the developing system whilst later that day the JMA classified the disturbance as a tropical depression and started to issue advisories on it. The JTWC then designated the depression as Tropical Depression 04W. On May 15, the tropical depression intensified into a Tropical Storm and was named Matmo by RSMC Tokyo. Later that day PAGASA issued its first advisory on Matmo and assigned the local name of "Dindo" with the JTWC upgrading Matmo to a tropical storm later that day. It then intensified into a severe tropical storm the next day whilst the JTWC issued their final advisory on Matmo as it had become extratropical. The JMA kept issuing advisories on Matmo, until it dissipated the next day. There was no impact reported from Tropical Storm Matmo.
early May 17, and weakened while crossing northern Luzon
, but after reaching open waters it re-organized while accelerating northeastward. The system intensified to a severe tropical storm again, but never reached its previous peak intensity and began weakening as it moved northeast. The JTWC and the JMA issued their final advisories on May 20.
In Luzon, the storm caused 58 deaths and $94 million (USD) in damage. The storm destroyed 43,365 houses and damaged 188,830 more. Most of the damages reported were in Northern Luzon
. Meanwhile, Mindoro
and Panay
islands were also affected as the storm-induced southwest monsoon
brought rains and floods to those areas.
on May 25. On May 26, the JMA recognized it as a weak tropical depression, and later that day, the JTWC issued a TCFA on the system.
Early on May 27, the JTWC issued its first advisory on Tropical Depression 06W. Hours after, the JMA designated the system as Tropical Storm Nakri. Early on May 28, the JMA upgraded it to a severe tropical storm. Twelve hours later, the JTWC upgraded 06W to a typhoon. Later that day, Nakri strengthened at a more rapid pace and the rapid intensification continued into May 29, when Nakri strengthened to a Category 4-equivalent typhoon. PAGASA then issued its first advisory on the storm on early on May 30 and named it "Enteng". By May 31 it began to weaken as it moved north. But on the next day, it started to re-intensify slightly. On June 2, it began to undergo transition to an extratropical system
. And later, both JTWC and JMA stopped issuing advisories as it already degenerated to an extratropical low.
The name Nakri was submitted by Cambodia
and refers to a type of flower found in the country.
Fengshen was initially forecast to go through Bicol Region but later on shifted its course further westward, eventually going towards the direction of Mindoro Province. However, before even reaching Mindoro it again shifted its direction northward towards the direction of Metro Manila, mainly because of the weakening of the High Pressure area system in the northern part of the Philippines.
Typhoon Fengshen, after creating havoc in the Philippines, emerged into the South China sea on the 22nd of June and moved northwards towards China. After moving into the South China Sea both the JMA and PAGASA downgraded it to a severe tropical storm while the JTWC downgraded Fengshen from a Typhoon to a Tropical Storm. PAGASA then issued its final advisory on Tropical Storm Fengshen (Frank) due to Fengshen leaving PAGASA's Area of Responsibility. Late in the evening of the 24th June Tropical Storm Fengshen made landfall on Shenzhen, Guangdong, before moving into mainland China. The next day the JTWC downgraded Fengshen to a tropical depression and issued their final warning on the system. The JMA then announced their final warning as they downgraded Fengshen to a tropical depression.
to the west of the Philippines. The precursor to Gener earlier moved across Luzon, producing 13 mm (0.511811023622047 in) of rain in the Ilocos Region
. The system had deep convection
persisting on the western side of its developing low level circulation center
, although it was in an area of moderate wind shear
, and rapid development was not expected. On July 7, Gener left the PAGASA area of responsibility. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center
(JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
on July 7 as the circulation strengthened, despite the convection being disorganized due to the shear. Later that day the JMA reported that the system become a minor Tropical Depression, although the Hong Kong Observatory
(HKO) did not follow suit. The system rapidly weakened as it moved ashore on China to the east of Hong Kong. Early on July 8 the JMA issued their last advisory on the depression. There was no damage reported in China, although the system produced heavy rainfall in Guangdong Province.
(JMA), began to issue full advisories on a Tropical depression, which was located to the east of the Philippines. Later that day PAGASA
allocated the name Helen to the depression, followed the next day by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) designating the number 08W. Early on the 15th July both the JTWC, and the JMA upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm status, with RSMC Tokyo assigning the name "Kalmaegi" to the storm. Early on the 17th, Kalmaegi began rapidly intensifying; both the JTWC and JMA upgraded Kalmaegi to a Typhoon.
In the Philippines, it passed over Northern Luzon
(mostly affecting Ilocos
and Cagayan Valley
), where it killed two people, left more than 31,129 people affected and damaged ₱
7 million worth of property. The storm also hit 82 villages (all in Northern Luzon) and caused around ₱
45,000 worth of damage to farmland and livestock, Typhoon Kalmaegi, which was downgraded to tropical storm status by Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau
while still east of the country, made landfall at Ilan County in northeast Taiwan in the evening of July 17 at 19:40 local time (13:40 UTC) and emerged into the Taiwan Strait
at 7:20 in the morning local time (01:20 UTC) on July 18. At least nineteen lost their lives due to the storm and six are currently reported as missing. Tainan County
(now part of Tainan City) in southern Taiwan reported more than 1100 mm of rainfall in some mountain regions. The storm caused NT$
300 million worth of damage, including an estimated US$16 million in agricultural losses, and the typhoon destroyed about 5,100 hectare
s of orchards and crops.
From Taiwan, the typhoon, now downgraded to a tropical storm, turned toward southeast China. In Xiapu County
of Fujian Province, the tropical storm made landfall at 17:50 local time (0950 UTC), with winds of about 90 mi/h. In that province and in neighboring Zhejiang Province, 360,000 residents left coastal and low-lying homes to escape the storm. Schools and many businesses remained closed, and the storm was expected to travel northwest. Early on July 19, the JTWC issued its final advisory on Kalmaegi and downgraded it to a tropical depression. However, the JMA continued to issue advisories and maintained Kalmaegi a tropical storm as it moved to Yellow Sea
. Late the next day, the JMA downgraded Kalmaegi to a Remnant Low (Extratropical cyclone
) as it moved in land over North Korea
.
(JTWC) then initiated issuing advisories on the Tropical Depression designating it as Tropical Depression 09W. Later that day the JMA began to issue full advisories on the tropical depression whilst the JTWC upgraded the depression to tropical storm status. The JMA then designated it as Tropical Storm Fung-wong on July 25.
Fung-wong then carried on intensifying and during the morning off July 26 Fung-wong became a severe tropical storm. Later that day both the JTWC and PAGASA upgraded Fung-wong to Typhoon status. However the JMA did not upgrade Fung-wong to Typhoon Status until early the next morning. Late on July 27 Fung-wong reached its peak wind speeds of 95 kts (110 mph, 170 km/h) which is equivalent to a strong category two Typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Later that day Fung-wong made landfall on Taiwan near the border of Hualien County
and Taitung County
as a Typhoon. PAGASA then released their final advisory on Fung-wong as it had moved out of PAGASA's area of responsibility.
Early on July 28 Fung-wong it then emerged into the Taiwan Strait
from Changhua County
early the next morning by this time however Fung-wong had weakened into a Severe Tropical Storm whilst the JTWC had downgraded Fung-wong to a Tropical Storm. Fung-wong then made its second landfall later that day over mainland China. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center then released its last warning on Tropical Storm Fung-wong. However the JMA continued to issue advisories on Fung-wong weakening Fung-wong into a tropical storm on July 29. The JMA then terminated issuing full advisories later that day as Fung-wong weakened into a Tropical Depression, However the JMA continued to monitor the Depression within their WWJP25 warnings until later the next day when they issued their last warning on Fung-wong.
(JMA) designated Julian as a minor Tropical Depression and initiated advisories on the Tropical Depression.
Early the next day the JMA started to issue full advisories on the Tropical Depression with the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
(JTWC) starting to issue warnings on the Tropical Depression with the JTWC designating it as Tropical Depression 10W. Furthermore, later that day both PAGASA and the JTWC upgraded the Tropical Depression to a Tropical Storm. On August 5 RSMC Tokyo upgraded the depression to a Tropical Storm and named it Kammuri. PAGASA then released their last advisory on Tropical Storm Kammuri (Julian) as it moved out of PAGASA's Area of responsibility and headed towards Mainland China. The Hong Kong Observatory
then upgraded Kammuri to a Severe Tropical Storm, with the JMA upgrading it to a severe tropical storm early the next morning.
However, Kammuri started to weaken after making landfall along the south coast of China in the Western Guangdong Province at about 12pm UTC on August 6. After Kammuri had made landfall the JMA downgraded Kammuri to a Tropical Storm, whilst the JTWC issued their final advisory later that day on Tropical Storm Kammuri. Early the next day Tropical Storm Kammuri emerged into the Gulf of Tonkin, however later that day Kammuri made landfall again in the Guangxi province of China. After making landfall Kammuri weakened to a tropical depression as the JMA issued its last advisory on August 7. However the JMA continued to monitor the depression in their WWJP25 warnings until early on August 8.
(JMA) started to issue full advisories on a Tropical Depression which was located in the Bering Sea
to the east of Japan. Early the next day, the depression intensified into a tropical storm and was named Phanfone and given the international Designation of 0810 by the JMA as it moved northwards. Late on August 10, Phanfone reached its maximum wind speeds of 40 knots (75 km/h, 45 mph) as it was becoming extratropical. Early the next day Phanfone became an extratropical low as the JMA issued their final advisory.
Phanfone was upgraded to a severe tropical storm in post-storm analysis.
The name Phanfone was submitted by Laos
and is the name of an animal.
, and initiated warnings on it. Early the next day the Joint Typhoon Warning Center initiated warnings on the depression designating it as Tropical Depression 11W. Early the next day as Tropical Depression 11W approached Korea the depression reached its maximum wind speeds of 30 kts (55 km/h, 35 mph) However, later that day the JTWC issued its final advisory as due to land interaction the depressions wind speeds would weaken to below warning level. The next day the JMA released their final advisory on the depression.
(JTWC) started issuing advisories on the tropical depression, designating it as Tropical Depression 12W. Early the next morning as the depression moved closer to Japan the JMA upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Vongfong, the JTWC also upgraded Vongfong to a tropical storm around the same time. On August 16, the JTWC issued its final advisory as it began transiting into an extratropical low. The JMA issued their final advisory early the next day once it had become an extratropical low. As Vongfong brushed by Japan, heavy rains triggered flood which killed one person. A total of 523 homes and 39 hectare
s (96.3 acre
s) were damaged by the storm and 15,520 people were left without power. The storm also damaged 139 roads and caused 54 landslides.
identified the tropical depression and started to issue full advisories on the depression with PAGASA naming the depression Karen. Also later that day the JTWC upgraded 13W to a Tropical Storm.
The next day, both PAGASA and the JMA upgraded the depression to a Tropical Storm with RSMC Tokyo naming it as Nuri. It then intensified rather quickly with the JMA designating it as a Severe Tropical Storm with the JMA, PAGASA, and the JTWC upgrading Nuri to a Typhoon later that day. Late on August 19 Typhoon Nuri made landfall on the Philippines and then over the next day moved across northern Luzon
causing 12 deaths and 461.3 million PHP
in damage. that day Nuri entered the Babuyan Channel early the next day and started to move northwestwards towards Hong Kong and China. On August 21 PAGASA then issued its final advisory on Nuri as it was moving out of PAGASA's Area of Responsibility. The JMA then downgraded Nuri to a Severe tropical storm with the JTWC also downgrading Nuri to a Tropical Storm later that day as it was approaching Hong Kong. However the JMA did not downgrade Nuri to a tropical storm until the next morning after Nuri had made a rare direct hit on Hong Kong. The JTWC then issued its final advisory later on tropical storm Nuri and the JMA then downgraded Nuri to a weak tropical depression early the next day and issued its last full advisory on Nuri as it was just moving into the Chinese mainland.
in the Philippines
. Early the next day PAGASA
designated it as Tropical Depression Lawin. However, the JMA did not designate it as a Minor Tropical depression until early on August 26, with the JTWC issuing a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert at the same time. PAGASA then hoisted Public storm Signal number 1 for parts of Luzon
which meant that wind speeds of 30–60 km/h were expected within 36 hours in the warning areas. Later that day both the JMA and the JTWC, started to issue full advisories on the tropical depression, with the JTWC designating it as Tropical Depression 14W. Early the next day the JTWC upgraded the tropical depression to a tropical storm, Despite of the fact that neither the JMA nor PAGASA upgraded the depression to a tropical storm at this time (or at any time during Lawin's existence), the JTWC then weakened the cyclone back in to a tropical depression within their next advisory. The JMA then terminated issuing full advisories later that day as it was no longer expected to develop into a tropical storm. On August 28 the JTWC issued its final advisory on the Tropical depression followed by the JMA and PAGASA later that day. There were no reported casualties from Tropical Depression 14W (Lawin).
assigned the number 17W to the depression. However, as it had already begun its extra tropical transition, this was the only JTWC warning issued on the system.
Early on September 25 both the JTWC and the JMA upgraded Jangmi to a Typhoon this was after the JMA had reported that Jangmi had intensified into a Severe Tropical Storm. Early on September 26 the JTWC reported that Jangmi had intensified into a category two typhoon with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). During that afternoon, the JMA reported that Jangmi had continued to intensify. However, the JTWC did not report intensification, keeping the storm at a steady 110 mph (175 km/h), though in their next advisory the JTWC acknowledged the intensification and reported that Jangmi had intensified in to a category four super typhoon with winds of 135 kt (150 mph, 215 km/h). Operationally the JTWC kept Jangmi at this intensity before it weakened as it made landfall on Taiwan, but in their season best track the JTWC revised their peak intensity estimates, concluding that Typhoon Jangmi was the only Category 5 of 2008 in any basin with maximum winds of 145 kts (165 mph 270 km/h) at 0600Z on September 27.
. Over the next few days it gradually intensified and late on September 27 the JMA designated it as a tropical depression. Early the next day the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the developing depression and then later that day, designated the depression as Tropical Depression 20W. Early on September 28 the JMA reported that the depression had intensified into a tropical storm and named it as Mekkhala. Later that day the JTWC upgraded Mekkhala to a Tropical Storm. However on the 30th it began to move inland and thus, early that day, JTWC issued its final advisory on Mekkhala as it is expected to dissipate within a short time. Later that day, the JMA downgraded the storm to a tropical depression and issued the final advisory.
At least 21 people have been killed due to Tropical Storm Mekkhala. Damages from the storm totaled to $6.6 million (USD)
to the east of Mindanao
, in the Philippines
. During the next day the JTWC issued a TCFA on the tropical disturbance. Early on September 29 the JMA designated the disturbance as a tropical depression. Later that day both PAGASA and the JTWC designated the disturbance as a tropical depression, with PAGASA naming the depression as Pablo whilst the JTWC designated it as Tropical Depression 21W. The JTWC upgraded the depression to a tropical storm early in the afternoon. The JMA followed shortly after and upgraded the system to Tropical Storm Higos early on September 30. Higos tracked towards the northwest and made landfall in the eastern Philippines (on Samar
island) on October 1. Higos tracked over the Philippines as a tropical storm (but PAGASA downgraded it as a tropical depression) for most of the day before moving out over open waters. Once out over water, the JTWC downgraded Higos to a tropical depression, however, the JMA kept it as a tropical storm. As Higos neared landfall, it suddenly relocated, paralleling the northeastern coast of Hainan
, China. The storm later made landfall on October 4 around 2 a.m. (CST) on the northern coastline of the island. JMA then issued its final advisory as Higos weakened to a tropical depression. The JTWC followed 12 hours later.
, in the Philippines
. Later that day the JTWC assessed the disturbances chances of forming in to a Significant Tropical cyclone within 24 hours as poor. Early the next day PAGASA
designated the disturbance as a Tropical Depression and named it as Quinta, whilst the JTWC still monitored it as a disturbance. Later that day the JTWC upgraded the disturbances chances of forming in to a significant tropical cyclone to Good and issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
on the disturbance and then designated the disturbance as Tropical Depression 24W as they issued their first advisory on the Depression. On November 12, PAGASA issued their final warning as it transform into an low pressure area. PAGASA renamed the system on November 12 as it redeveloped. Later that day, they issued their final advisory again as it moved out of their area of responsibility.
however they did not start issuing advisories on it until early the next day. As the JMA were starting to issue advisories on the minor tropical depression, the JTWC reported that it was not expected to become a significant tropical cyclone within 24 hours as the depression was subtropical. During that afternoon the JMA upgraded the depression to a full tropical depression whilst the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the developing depression. During that evening the JMA reported that the depression had become a Tropical Storm and named it as Haishen, whilst the JTWC designated Haishen as Tropical Depression 25W.
Early on November 16, the JTWC upgraded the depression to a Tropical Storm and then both the JMA and the JTWC declared it had reached its peak wind speeds of 75 km/h (45 mph). At this time the JTWC reported that there were signs in satellite imagery that Haishen had started its extratropical transition and then issued their final advisory twelve hours later. The JMA continued to track Haishen as a Tropical Cyclone for another 24 hours, when they declared that Haishen had become an extratropical low. The extratropical low then raced across the Pacific ocean and crossed the International Dateline later that day, as an extratropical low to the south of the Aleutian Islands. There were no casualties or Impact reported from Haishen as it remained out to sea throughout its life.
A landslide triggered by Noul killed a schoolteacher as she was heading home in Quang Ngai province
. At least 50 rescue workers searched for her through the debris before finding her body several days later. At least 20,000 people were in need of emergency assistance in the form of food, shelter, and water following the storm. Several other people were killed by landslides and flooding. In all, Tropical Storm Noul killed 21 people in southern Vietnam. During the storm, more than 2,000 people were isolated by floodwaters. A total of 200 homes were destroyed, another 13,500 were damaged 8,879 hectares of crops were destroyed and 60 km (37.3 mi) of roads were submerged. Damages from the storm were estimated at VND143 billion ($8.4 million USD). Offshore, a total of 115 boats sank due to the storm.
.
on August 14. Shortly after crossing into the western Pacific basin, the remnants regenerated into a tropical depression, despite the maximum sustained winds only being 25 mph (35 km/h). The depression briefly degenerated into a tropical disturbance on August 15 before becoming a tropical depression again. Kika dissipated the next day over open waters.
. Names are selected from the following lists, there is no annual list. Names were contributed by 13 members of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee, except for Singapore
. The 13 nations or territories, along with the Federated States of Micronesia
, each submitted 10 names, which are used in alphabetical order by the English name of the country. The first storm of the season was named Neoguri. The names Neoguri and Jangmi were corrected from Noguri and Changmi while Matmo, Nuri, Noul and Dolphin were used for the first time replacing Chataan, Rusa, Pongsona and Yanyan in the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
(PAGASA) uses its own naming scheme for tropical cyclones within its area of responsibility. Lists are recycled every four years. Ulysses, Vicky and Warren replaced Unding, Winnie and Violeta in the 2004 season.
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
s tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and west of the International Date Line
International Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
. Storms that form east of the date line and north of the equator are called hurricanes; see 2008 Pacific hurricane season
2008 Pacific hurricane season
The 2008 Pacific hurricane season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It officially started May 15, 2008 in the eastern Pacific, started on June 1, 2008 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 2008....
. Tropical storms formed in the entire Western North Pacific basin are assigned a name by the Japan Meteorological Agency
Japan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
. Tropical depressions formed in this basin are given a number with a "W" suffix by the United States' Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
. In addition, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...
(PAGASA) assigns names to tropical cyclones (including tropical depressions) that enter or form in the Philippine area of responsibility. These names, however, are not in common use outside of the Philippines.
Seasonal forecasts
| Source | Date | b>Total TCs |
b>Tropical storms |
Typhoons | |
| TSR | Average (1950–2007) | – | 27 | 17 | |
| GCACIC City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements... |
Average (1950–2000) | 31 | 27 | 17 | |
| GCACIC City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements... |
April 18, 2008 | 33 | 30 | 19 | |
| TSR | May 6, 2008 | – | 28 | 18 | |
| GCACIC City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements... |
June 24, 2008 | 33 | 30 | 19 | |
| TSR | July 6, 2008 | – | 28 | 18 | |
| TSR | August 5, 2008 | – | 28 | 18 | |
| JMA | Actual activity | 22 | 11 | ||
| JTWC | Actual activity | 27 | 27 | 12 |
Each season several national meteorological services and scientific agencies forecast either the expected amount tropical cyclones, tropical storms, and typhoons forming in a season and/or how many tropical cyclones will affect a country or territory.
City University of Hong Kong
Since the 2000 typhoon season2000 Pacific typhoon season
The 2000 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 2000, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November...
, the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research or the Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacific Climate Impact Centre (GCACIC), both of the City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements...
have issued forecasts of activity
Tropical cyclone seasonal forecasting
Tropical cyclone seasonal forecasting is the process of predicting the number of tropical cyclones in one of the world's seven tropical cyclone basins during a particular tropical cyclone season. In the north Atlantic Ocean, one of the most widely publicized annual predictions comes from the...
for each upcoming typhoon season. Forecasts are issued in April and June of each year and predict how many tropical cyclones, tropical storms, and typhoons there will be in a season. This season, the GCACIC is predicting a slightly more active than usual season. An average season, according to the GCACIC, has 31 tropical cyclones, 27 named storms, and 17 typhoons. In its April forecast, the GCACIC predicted 33 total tropical cyclones, 30 named storms, and 19 typhoons before predicting the same number of systems, tropical storms, and typhoons in its June forecast.
Tropical Storm Risk Consortium
Since the 2000 typhoon season, the Tropical Storm Risk Consortium (TSR) of the University College of London have issued forecasts of activity for each upcoming typhoon season. During 2008 forecasts were issued in early March, May, July and August and predict how many tropical storms, typhoons and intense typhoons there will be during a season.According to TSR: An intense typhoon is a typhoon that has 1-minute winds of at least 175 km/h (110 mph) In its March forecast, TSR Predicted that the season would be about 20% below average with six intense tropical cyclones, however due to conflicting climate signals it was not possible to predict how many tropical storms and typhoons would form. In its May forecast, TSR were now able to predict how many tropical storms and typhoons, would form during the season. They also predicted that the season would be near normal with 28 tropical storms, 18 typhoons and 8 intense typhoons forming during the season. In their July and August forecasts, TSR predicted the same amount of tropical storms and typhoons and intense typhoons as their May forecasts.National meteorological service predictions
As the name Frank was retired from PAGASA's naming lists they also released a prediction stating that there would be 16 more Tropical cyclones of any strength to pass through PAGASA'S area of responsibility which added to the six that had already moved through PAGASA's area of responsibility brought a total of 22 cyclones to pass through the PAGASA's area of responsibility during 2008.Seasonal Summary
The first tropical depression of the season, formed in mid January to the west of the Philippines. As it moved west, the depression did not develop any further and dissipated on January 18. After two more Tropical depressions, the first named storm Typhoon NeoguriTyphoon Neoguri (2008)
Typhoon Neoguri was the earliest tropical cyclone on record to strike The People's Republic of China...
formed in April to the east of Mindanao. During May as a result of convection being enhanced within the Philippine sea and the South China Sea four named storms formed which along with 1971 and 1980 was the joint highest incidence in May since 1951. Between June and October, the region was considered to be very quiet by the JMA as they only named 13 tropical cyclones. In November and December, only four tropical cyclones were named by the JMA and all four formed within the Philippine sea and the South China Sea.
Tropical Depression 01W
Early on January 11, the JTWC reported that an area of convection had persisted about 1010 km, (630 mi) to the southeast of Manila in the Philippines. The disturbance was located near to an developing low level circulation center which was weak and remained displaced from the deep convection whilst located in an area of low to moderate vertical windshear. During the next 24 hours the disturbance developed further with a tropical cyclone formation alert being issued the next day by the JTWC as the disturbance now had a well defined low level circulation center with convective banding on the northwestern edge. Early on January 13, both the JMA and the JTWC reported that the first depression of the season had developed about 360 km, (225 mi) to the west of Manila. Later that day the JMA reported that the depression had reached its 10 minute peak windspeeds of 55 km/h, (35 mph). However early on January 14 the JTWC reported that the depression had continued to intensify and upgraded the depression to a Tropical storm and then six hours later reported 1-minute peak windspeeds of 65 km/h (40 mph). Later that day it was downgraded to a Tropical depression due to weakening deep convection and a partially exposed low level circulation center. Over the next few days the depression moved towards the east until early on January 18 when both the JMA and the JTWC reported that it had dissipated off the Malaysian coastline. There were no reports of any damages or casualties associated with the depression.Tropical Depression
On January 22, both the JTWC and the JMA began monitoring an area of low pressure in the South China SeaSouth China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
about 890 km (553 mi) to the southeast of Vietnam. The JTWC reported that the disturbance's low level circulation center had a broad low level circulation center with deep convection located to the northern quadrant and was located within an area of low vertical wind shear. This came as the JMA designated the system as a minor tropical depression. The minor depression intensified throughout the day and reached its peak intensity with winds of 55 km/h (35 mph) early on January 23. However, shortly after reaching its peak intensity, it degenerated into an area of low pressure and the JMA issued their final advisory on the system as it drifted towards the west. However the JTWC kept monitoring it as a tropical disturbance until late the next day after it had made landfall in Vietnam.
Typhoon Neoguri (Ambo)
On April 11, area of convection with an area of low pressure was located between PalauPalau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
and Yap
Yap
Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...
. Early on April 13, a low-level circulation developed near Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
. The JMA designated the system as a minor tropical depression on the same day, and PAGASA began warning on the system, naming it Tropical Depression "Ambo". The low continued to get better organized and early on April 14, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 02W, which was located about north of Zamboanga City
Zamboanga City
The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Later that day, the agency upgraded it to tropical storm status, based on satellite intensity estimates. The JMA upgraded the system to a tropical storm, naming it Neoguri, the next day. Early April 16, the system was upgraded to severe tropical storm status, and then reached typhoon status a few hours later. The typhoon continued north, weakening as it did so. The cyclone made landfall as a weak tropical storm on Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province in southern China, and the final advisories from both agencies were issued shortly after.
As the typhoon approached and passed Hainan Province, about 120,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas. According to the China Meteorological Administration
China Meteorological Administration
The China Meteorological Administration , headquartered in Beijing, is the national weather service for the People's Republic of China.-History:...
, it was the earliest in the year a tropical cyclone had ever impacted China (the old record was for Typhoon Wanda on May 3, 1971).
42,000 residents were displaced in the aftermath of Neoguri. 18 Chinese fisherman and 22 Vietnamese fisherman remain missing due to the storm. Three fatalities have been confirmed in China, two due to a road being covered in a mud flow, and another due to winds blowing a sheet of aluminum into a person, throwing them off the roof of a stadium.
Typhoon Rammasun (Butchoy)
Early on May 7 PAGASAPhilippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...
designated an area of low pressure which was about 790 km east of Mindanao as Tropical Depression Butchoy. Around the same time the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) also designated the area of low pressure as a Tropical depression with the JTWC assigning the number 03W to the depression.
Later that day the JMA upgraded the Tropical Depression to Tropical Storm status with RSMC Tokyo assigning the name Rammasun to the storm. It quickly organized, intensifying into a typhoon on May 9. Rapid intensification continued and it strengthened into a Category 4-equivalent typhoon by early on May 10, and a super typhoon by midday.
Rammasun continued on a northerly path, and reached a peak of 105 knots (205.8 km/h) and 915 hPa
HPA
-Organizations:*Halifax Port Authority, a port authority in Canada*Hamburg Port Authority, the port authority for the Port of Hamburg, Germany*Health Protection Agency, a health organization in the United Kingdom...
on May 10. Soon after, the typhoon began slowly weakening. The JTWC downgraded it to a typhoon on May 11. On May 12, the weakening became more rapid, and the JMA downgraded the system to a severe tropical storm, while the JTWC issued its last advisory, noting that it was extratropical. The JMA, however, held onto Rammasun until early May 13, when it downgraded the cyclone to a low and issued its final advisory. Though it never hit land, it was the second strongest May typhoon in recorded history, behind Typhoon Lola of 1986.
Rammasun brushed the Japanese coastline as it became extratropical on May 13 delivering strong winds and high waves. Along with moderate to heavy rain, winds gusted up to 52 mph (83 km/h) as the storm moved out to sea.
A strong storm from the "tail" of Rammasun struck the Philippines as it passed south of Japan. The winds brought by the storm caused severe damage to some buildings and numerous trees some weighing tonnes were uprooted. The damage may have been due to a possible tornado but there is no clarification for this possibility. At least 40 people were injured and damage totaled to 11 million PHP ($280,000 USD).
Severe Tropical Storm Matmo (Dindo)
Tropical Storm Matmo formed to the east of Manila in the Philippines as a Tropical Disturbance on May 13. Early the next day, the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation AlertTropical Cyclone Formation Alert
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming from a tropical disturbance that has been...
on the developing system whilst later that day the JMA classified the disturbance as a tropical depression and started to issue advisories on it. The JTWC then designated the depression as Tropical Depression 04W. On May 15, the tropical depression intensified into a Tropical Storm and was named Matmo by RSMC Tokyo. Later that day PAGASA issued its first advisory on Matmo and assigned the local name of "Dindo" with the JTWC upgrading Matmo to a tropical storm later that day. It then intensified into a severe tropical storm the next day whilst the JTWC issued their final advisory on Matmo as it had become extratropical. The JMA kept issuing advisories on Matmo, until it dissipated the next day. There was no impact reported from Tropical Storm Matmo.
Severe Tropical Storm Halong (Cosme)
Early on May 14 PAGASA upgraded a tropical disturbance west of the Philippines to Tropical Depression Cosme. Later that day the JTWC issued a TCFA, later the first advisory on the system as Tropical Depression 05W. On May 16, the JMA upgraded 05W to Halong. Later that day, it was upgraded to a Severe Tropical Storm by JMA, and a Typhoon by JTWC, and reached its peak of 60 knots (117.6 km/h) early May 17. It made landfall on western PangasinanPangasinan
Pangasinan is a province of the Republic of the Philippines. The provincial capital is Lingayen. Pangasinan is located on the west central and peripheral area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf, with the total land area being 5,368.82 square kilometers . According to the latest census,...
early May 17, and weakened while crossing northern Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, but after reaching open waters it re-organized while accelerating northeastward. The system intensified to a severe tropical storm again, but never reached its previous peak intensity and began weakening as it moved northeast. The JTWC and the JMA issued their final advisories on May 20.
In Luzon, the storm caused 58 deaths and $94 million (USD) in damage. The storm destroyed 43,365 houses and damaged 188,830 more. Most of the damages reported were in Northern Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
. Meanwhile, Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
and Panay
Panay
Panay may refer to*Panay Island*Panay *Panay, Capiz*Panay River*Panay Gulf* USS Panay *Panay incident...
islands were also affected as the storm-induced southwest monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
brought rains and floods to those areas.
Typhoon Nakri (Enteng)
A tropical disturbance formed south of GuamGuam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
on May 25. On May 26, the JMA recognized it as a weak tropical depression, and later that day, the JTWC issued a TCFA on the system.
Early on May 27, the JTWC issued its first advisory on Tropical Depression 06W. Hours after, the JMA designated the system as Tropical Storm Nakri. Early on May 28, the JMA upgraded it to a severe tropical storm. Twelve hours later, the JTWC upgraded 06W to a typhoon. Later that day, Nakri strengthened at a more rapid pace and the rapid intensification continued into May 29, when Nakri strengthened to a Category 4-equivalent typhoon. PAGASA then issued its first advisory on the storm on early on May 30 and named it "Enteng". By May 31 it began to weaken as it moved north. But on the next day, it started to re-intensify slightly. On June 2, it began to undergo transition to an extratropical system
Extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scale low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth having neither tropical nor polar characteristics, and are connected with fronts and...
. And later, both JTWC and JMA stopped issuing advisories as it already degenerated to an extratropical low.
The name Nakri was submitted by Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and refers to a type of flower found in the country.
Typhoon Fengshen (Frank)
On June 18, an area of low pressure that the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) had been monitoring for a few days was upgraded to Tropical Depression Frank. Later that day both the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) started issuing full advisories on Frank with the JTWC designating it as Tropical Depression 07W. Early the next day the JMA upgraded the tropical depression to a tropical storm and assigned the name Fengshen. Tropical Storm Fengshen then rapidly intensified that day by becoming a severe tropical storm and then intensifying into a typhoon later that day. The next day Typhoon Fengshen made landfall in eastern Samar in the central Philippines and travelled northwest over the islands.Fengshen was initially forecast to go through Bicol Region but later on shifted its course further westward, eventually going towards the direction of Mindoro Province. However, before even reaching Mindoro it again shifted its direction northward towards the direction of Metro Manila, mainly because of the weakening of the High Pressure area system in the northern part of the Philippines.
Typhoon Fengshen, after creating havoc in the Philippines, emerged into the South China sea on the 22nd of June and moved northwards towards China. After moving into the South China Sea both the JMA and PAGASA downgraded it to a severe tropical storm while the JTWC downgraded Fengshen from a Typhoon to a Tropical Storm. PAGASA then issued its final advisory on Tropical Storm Fengshen (Frank) due to Fengshen leaving PAGASA's Area of Responsibility. Late in the evening of the 24th June Tropical Storm Fengshen made landfall on Shenzhen, Guangdong, before moving into mainland China. The next day the JTWC downgraded Fengshen to a tropical depression and issued their final warning on the system. The JMA then announced their final warning as they downgraded Fengshen to a tropical depression.
Tropical Depression Gener
On July 4, 2008, PAGASA reported that Tropical Depression Gener formed in the South China SeaSouth China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
to the west of the Philippines. The precursor to Gener earlier moved across Luzon, producing 13 mm (0.511811023622047 in) of rain in the Ilocos Region
Ilocos Region
The Ilocos region or Region I is a Region of the Philippines and is located in the northwest of Luzon. It borders to the east the regions of the Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley and to the south the region of Central Luzon...
. The system had deep convection
Atmospheric convection
Atmospheric convection is the result of a parcel-environment instability, or temperature difference, layer in the atmosphere. Different lapse rates within dry and moist air lead to instability. Mixing of air during the day which expands the height of the planetary boundary layer leads to...
persisting on the western side of its developing low level circulation center
Atmospheric circulation
Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air, and the means by which thermal energy is distributed on the surface of the Earth....
, although it was in an area of moderate wind shear
Wind shear
Wind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere...
, and rapid development was not expected. On July 7, Gener left the PAGASA area of responsibility. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
(JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming from a tropical disturbance that has been...
on July 7 as the circulation strengthened, despite the convection being disorganized due to the shear. Later that day the JMA reported that the system become a minor Tropical Depression, although the Hong Kong Observatory
Hong Kong Observatory
Hong Kong Observatory is a department of the Hong Kong government. The Observatory forecasts weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards...
(HKO) did not follow suit. The system rapidly weakened as it moved ashore on China to the east of Hong Kong. Early on July 8 the JMA issued their last advisory on the depression. There was no damage reported in China, although the system produced heavy rainfall in Guangdong Province.
Typhoon Kalmaegi (Helen)
Early on July 13, the Japan Meteorological AgencyJapan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
(JMA), began to issue full advisories on a Tropical depression, which was located to the east of the Philippines. Later that day PAGASA
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...
allocated the name Helen to the depression, followed the next day by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) designating the number 08W. Early on the 15th July both the JTWC, and the JMA upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm status, with RSMC Tokyo assigning the name "Kalmaegi" to the storm. Early on the 17th, Kalmaegi began rapidly intensifying; both the JTWC and JMA upgraded Kalmaegi to a Typhoon.
In the Philippines, it passed over Northern Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
(mostly affecting Ilocos
Ilocos
Ilocos collectively refers to two provinces in the Philippines: Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. Inhabitants are called Ilocanos and they speak the language Iloko, also called Ilocano.The Ilocos Region, containing four provinces, is named after Ilocos...
and Cagayan Valley
Cagayan Valley
Cagayan Valley is a region of the Philippines, also designated as Region II or Region 02. It is composed of five provinces, namely: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino...
), where it killed two people, left more than 31,129 people affected and damaged ₱
Philippine peso
The peso is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos . Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used...
7 million worth of property. The storm also hit 82 villages (all in Northern Luzon) and caused around ₱
Philippine peso
The peso is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos . Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used...
45,000 worth of damage to farmland and livestock, Typhoon Kalmaegi, which was downgraded to tropical storm status by Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau
Central Weather Bureau
The Central Weather Bureau is the government meteorological research and forecasting institution of the Republic of China . In addition to meteorology, the Central Weather Bureau also makes astronomical observations, reports on sea conditions, and conducts research into seismology and provides...
while still east of the country, made landfall at Ilan County in northeast Taiwan in the evening of July 17 at 19:40 local time (13:40 UTC) and emerged into the Taiwan Strait
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...
at 7:20 in the morning local time (01:20 UTC) on July 18. At least nineteen lost their lives due to the storm and six are currently reported as missing. Tainan County
Tainan County
Tainan County was located in southern Taiwan. The name "Tainan" means "Southern Taiwan". Formerly a county of the Republic of China , Tainan County was merged with Tainan City at the end of 2010 to form a single special municipality....
(now part of Tainan City) in southern Taiwan reported more than 1100 mm of rainfall in some mountain regions. The storm caused NT$
New Taiwan dollar
The New Taiwan dollar , or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar...
300 million worth of damage, including an estimated US$16 million in agricultural losses, and the typhoon destroyed about 5,100 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s of orchards and crops.
From Taiwan, the typhoon, now downgraded to a tropical storm, turned toward southeast China. In Xiapu County
Xiapu County
Xiapu , is a county in the municipal region of Ningde, Fujian. It has a stretch of East China Sea coast, with many harbours and islands...
of Fujian Province, the tropical storm made landfall at 17:50 local time (0950 UTC), with winds of about 90 mi/h. In that province and in neighboring Zhejiang Province, 360,000 residents left coastal and low-lying homes to escape the storm. Schools and many businesses remained closed, and the storm was expected to travel northwest. Early on July 19, the JTWC issued its final advisory on Kalmaegi and downgraded it to a tropical depression. However, the JMA continued to issue advisories and maintained Kalmaegi a tropical storm as it moved to Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
. Late the next day, the JMA downgraded Kalmaegi to a Remnant Low (Extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scale low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth having neither tropical nor polar characteristics, and are connected with fronts and...
) as it moved in land over North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
.
Typhoon Fung-wong (Igme)
On July 23 the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) started to issue WWJP25 warnings on a minor Tropical Depression which was located to the east of the Philippines. Early the next morning PAGASA named the depression as Igme. The Joint Typhoon Warning CenterJoint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
(JTWC) then initiated issuing advisories on the Tropical Depression designating it as Tropical Depression 09W. Later that day the JMA began to issue full advisories on the tropical depression whilst the JTWC upgraded the depression to tropical storm status. The JMA then designated it as Tropical Storm Fung-wong on July 25.
Fung-wong then carried on intensifying and during the morning off July 26 Fung-wong became a severe tropical storm. Later that day both the JTWC and PAGASA upgraded Fung-wong to Typhoon status. However the JMA did not upgrade Fung-wong to Typhoon Status until early the next morning. Late on July 27 Fung-wong reached its peak wind speeds of 95 kts (110 mph, 170 km/h) which is equivalent to a strong category two Typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Later that day Fung-wong made landfall on Taiwan near the border of Hualien County
Hualien County
Hualien County is the largest county in Taiwan and is located on the mountainous eastern coast of Taiwan. It contains the island's largest port. It is the starting point of the Hualien-Taitung Line and the terminal point of North-Link Line of TRA...
and Taitung County
Taitung County
Taitung County is a county in eastern Taiwan. The name means "Eastern Taiwan". Taitung County is also known as 後山 by many of the locals, meaning behind the mountains or the back mountains. Taitung is officially administered as a county of Taiwan, Republic of China.Taitung runs along the south east...
as a Typhoon. PAGASA then released their final advisory on Fung-wong as it had moved out of PAGASA's area of responsibility.
Early on July 28 Fung-wong it then emerged into the Taiwan Strait
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...
from Changhua County
Changhua County
Changhua County is the smallest county in Taiwan located on the westside of Taiwan. It is officially governed as a county of the Republic of China .-Urban townships:# Beidou Township # Erlin Township...
early the next morning by this time however Fung-wong had weakened into a Severe Tropical Storm whilst the JTWC had downgraded Fung-wong to a Tropical Storm. Fung-wong then made its second landfall later that day over mainland China. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center then released its last warning on Tropical Storm Fung-wong. However the JMA continued to issue advisories on Fung-wong weakening Fung-wong into a tropical storm on July 29. The JMA then terminated issuing full advisories later that day as Fung-wong weakened into a Tropical Depression, However the JMA continued to monitor the Depression within their WWJP25 warnings until later the next day when they issued their last warning on Fung-wong.
Severe Tropical Storm Kammuri (Julian)
On August 3 at 1500 UTC, PAGASA identified a Tropical Disturbance located to the north of Luzon island in the Philippines and designated it as Tropical Depression Julian. Later that day the Japan Meteorological AgencyJapan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
(JMA) designated Julian as a minor Tropical Depression and initiated advisories on the Tropical Depression.
Early the next day the JMA started to issue full advisories on the Tropical Depression with the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
(JTWC) starting to issue warnings on the Tropical Depression with the JTWC designating it as Tropical Depression 10W. Furthermore, later that day both PAGASA and the JTWC upgraded the Tropical Depression to a Tropical Storm. On August 5 RSMC Tokyo upgraded the depression to a Tropical Storm and named it Kammuri. PAGASA then released their last advisory on Tropical Storm Kammuri (Julian) as it moved out of PAGASA's Area of responsibility and headed towards Mainland China. The Hong Kong Observatory
Hong Kong Observatory
Hong Kong Observatory is a department of the Hong Kong government. The Observatory forecasts weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards...
then upgraded Kammuri to a Severe Tropical Storm, with the JMA upgrading it to a severe tropical storm early the next morning.
However, Kammuri started to weaken after making landfall along the south coast of China in the Western Guangdong Province at about 12pm UTC on August 6. After Kammuri had made landfall the JMA downgraded Kammuri to a Tropical Storm, whilst the JTWC issued their final advisory later that day on Tropical Storm Kammuri. Early the next day Tropical Storm Kammuri emerged into the Gulf of Tonkin, however later that day Kammuri made landfall again in the Guangxi province of China. After making landfall Kammuri weakened to a tropical depression as the JMA issued its last advisory on August 7. However the JMA continued to monitor the depression in their WWJP25 warnings until early on August 8.
Severe Tropical Storm Phanfone
Late on August 9, the Japan Meteorological AgencyJapan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
(JMA) started to issue full advisories on a Tropical Depression which was located in the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
to the east of Japan. Early the next day, the depression intensified into a tropical storm and was named Phanfone and given the international Designation of 0810 by the JMA as it moved northwards. Late on August 10, Phanfone reached its maximum wind speeds of 40 knots (75 km/h, 45 mph) as it was becoming extratropical. Early the next day Phanfone became an extratropical low as the JMA issued their final advisory.
Phanfone was upgraded to a severe tropical storm in post-storm analysis.
The name Phanfone was submitted by Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and is the name of an animal.
JTWC Tropical Storm 11W
Early on August 12 the JMA identified a weak tropical depression which was located to the northwest of the Ryukyu IslandsRyukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
, and initiated warnings on it. Early the next day the Joint Typhoon Warning Center initiated warnings on the depression designating it as Tropical Depression 11W. Early the next day as Tropical Depression 11W approached Korea the depression reached its maximum wind speeds of 30 kts (55 km/h, 35 mph) However, later that day the JTWC issued its final advisory as due to land interaction the depressions wind speeds would weaken to below warning level. The next day the JMA released their final advisory on the depression.
Severe Tropical Storm Vongfong
Late on August 14 the JMA identified a tropical depression which was located to the south of Japan and started issuing advisories on it. Later that day the Joint Typhoon Warning CenterJoint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
(JTWC) started issuing advisories on the tropical depression, designating it as Tropical Depression 12W. Early the next morning as the depression moved closer to Japan the JMA upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Vongfong, the JTWC also upgraded Vongfong to a tropical storm around the same time. On August 16, the JTWC issued its final advisory as it began transiting into an extratropical low. The JMA issued their final advisory early the next day once it had become an extratropical low. As Vongfong brushed by Japan, heavy rains triggered flood which killed one person. A total of 523 homes and 39 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (96.3 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s) were damaged by the storm and 15,520 people were left without power. The storm also damaged 139 roads and caused 54 landslides.
Typhoon Nuri (Karen)
On August 17 the Joint Typhoon Warning Center identified a tropical depression located to the east of the Philippines and designated it as 13W. Later that day both the JMA and PAGASAPhilippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...
identified the tropical depression and started to issue full advisories on the depression with PAGASA naming the depression Karen. Also later that day the JTWC upgraded 13W to a Tropical Storm.
The next day, both PAGASA and the JMA upgraded the depression to a Tropical Storm with RSMC Tokyo naming it as Nuri. It then intensified rather quickly with the JMA designating it as a Severe Tropical Storm with the JMA, PAGASA, and the JTWC upgrading Nuri to a Typhoon later that day. Late on August 19 Typhoon Nuri made landfall on the Philippines and then over the next day moved across northern Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
causing 12 deaths and 461.3 million PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...
in damage. that day Nuri entered the Babuyan Channel early the next day and started to move northwestwards towards Hong Kong and China. On August 21 PAGASA then issued its final advisory on Nuri as it was moving out of PAGASA's Area of Responsibility. The JMA then downgraded Nuri to a Severe tropical storm with the JTWC also downgrading Nuri to a Tropical Storm later that day as it was approaching Hong Kong. However the JMA did not downgrade Nuri to a tropical storm until the next morning after Nuri had made a rare direct hit on Hong Kong. The JTWC then issued its final advisory later on tropical storm Nuri and the JMA then downgraded Nuri to a weak tropical depression early the next day and issued its last full advisory on Nuri as it was just moving into the Chinese mainland.
JTWC Tropical Storm 14W (Lawin)
On August 24, a tropical disturbance formed to the east of LuzonLuzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Early the next day PAGASA
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...
designated it as Tropical Depression Lawin. However, the JMA did not designate it as a Minor Tropical depression until early on August 26, with the JTWC issuing a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert at the same time. PAGASA then hoisted Public storm Signal number 1 for parts of Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
which meant that wind speeds of 30–60 km/h were expected within 36 hours in the warning areas. Later that day both the JMA and the JTWC, started to issue full advisories on the tropical depression, with the JTWC designating it as Tropical Depression 14W. Early the next day the JTWC upgraded the tropical depression to a tropical storm, Despite of the fact that neither the JMA nor PAGASA upgraded the depression to a tropical storm at this time (or at any time during Lawin's existence), the JTWC then weakened the cyclone back in to a tropical depression within their next advisory. The JMA then terminated issuing full advisories later that day as it was no longer expected to develop into a tropical storm. On August 28 the JTWC issued its final advisory on the Tropical depression followed by the JMA and PAGASA later that day. There were no reported casualties from Tropical Depression 14W (Lawin).
Typhoon Sinlaku (Marce)
On September 8 the JMA and PAGASA started to issue advisories on a tropical depression which was located to the north of Manila with PAGASA designating it as Tropical Depression Marce. During that afternoon the JTWC designated the depression as Tropical Depression 15W. Later that day the depression intensified into a Tropical Storm as was named Sinlaku by the JMA. During the next day Sinlaku firstly rapidly intensified into a Severe Tropical Storm and then in to a Typhoon. On September 10 Sinlaku reached its peak 1 minute sustained winds of 125 knots (145 mph). During September 11 Sinlaku, started to weaken as it went under an eyewall replacement cycle. On September 13 Sinlaku made landfall on Taiwan with winds of 90 knots (176.4 km/h) which made Sinlaku a category two typhoon. As Sinlaku moved through Taiwan Sinlaku turned to the Northeast and moved back in to the South China Sea and started moving towards Japan. The next day as Sinlaku moved towards Japan it weakened into a Severe Tropical Storm and exited PAGASA's area of responsibility whilst the JTWC did not downgrade Sinlaku to a tropical storm until late on September 15. By then they were followed by the JMA which downgraded Sinlaku to a tropical storm early the next day. On September 16 the JTWC reported that Sinlaku had restrengthened into a Typhoon whilst the JMA reported that Sinlaku had strengthened into a Severe Tropical Storm. However the JTWC Quickly downgraded Sinlaku back down in to a Tropical Storm whilst the JMA kept Sinlaku at Severe tropical Storm strength. The next day the JTWC reported that Sinlaku had intensified into a typhoon for a third time however later that day the JTWC downgraded Sinlaku to Tropical Storm. On September 17 the JTWC issued its final advisory on Sinlaku as it became extratropical. However the JMA kept issuing advisories on Sinlaku until early on September 21 when it became an extratropical low.JTWC Tropical Storm 16W
Late on September 8, a tropical disturbance formed to the southeast of Japan. It then formed into a tropical depression during the next afternoon, with the JMA designating it as a Minor Tropical Depression with wind speeds of 25 knots (49 km/h). However the JTWC did not designate the depression as 16W until the morning of September 10. At that time the JTWC reported the depression had intensified in to a Tropical Storm. However later that day the JTWC lowered the storm back down to a Depression and then re-upgraded the Depression to a tropical storm. However early the next day the storm was downgraded by the JTWC for the last time as it had started its extratropical transition. Later that day as the depression raced into the Baroclinic Zone the JTWC issued its final advisory on Tropical storm 16W.JTWC Tropical Storm 17W
On September 13 the Japan Meteorological Agency started issuing advisories on a tropical depression located to the east of Japan and designated it as a minor tropical depression with wind speeds of 25 knots (49 km/h). The following morning the Joint Typhoon Warning CenterJoint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
assigned the number 17W to the depression. However, as it had already begun its extra tropical transition, this was the only JTWC warning issued on the system.
Typhoon Hagupit (Nina)
On September 14 a tropical disturbance formed to the northeast of Guam. Over the next few days it slowly developed, with the JMA designating it as a minor tropical depression on September 17. Later that day the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) then issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the developing tropical depression. Late the next day the JTWC designated the depression as 18W as it began to issue advisories on the depression. Early on September 19 the JMA began to issue full advisories on the depression as it moved in to PAGASA’s Area of Responsibility and was named Nina by PAGASA. Later that day both the JMA & the JTWC upgraded the depression to a tropical storm. The JMA named the storm as Hagupit, and assigned the international number of 0814. Early the next day Hagupit intensified into a severe tropical storm, and a category 3 typhoon later that day. It reached maximum intensity with 140 mi/h winds on September 23, and made landfall at that strength the next day. It then dissipated over land, thus late on September 24 JTWC issued its final advisory on the system followed by JMA early the next day.Typhoon Jangmi (Ofel)
On September 23 both the JMA and the JTWC designated a Tropical disturbance which was located to the east of the Philippines as a tropical Depression with the JTWC assigning the number 19W to the depression. Early the next day the JTWC reported that the depression had intensified into a tropical storm however the JMA did not upgrade the depression to a tropical storm until later that day and assigned the name Jangmi and the international number of 0815. The Depression then moved into PAGASAs Area of responsibility and was assigned the local name of Ofel.Early on September 25 both the JTWC and the JMA upgraded Jangmi to a Typhoon this was after the JMA had reported that Jangmi had intensified into a Severe Tropical Storm. Early on September 26 the JTWC reported that Jangmi had intensified into a category two typhoon with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). During that afternoon, the JMA reported that Jangmi had continued to intensify. However, the JTWC did not report intensification, keeping the storm at a steady 110 mph (175 km/h), though in their next advisory the JTWC acknowledged the intensification and reported that Jangmi had intensified in to a category four super typhoon with winds of 135 kt (150 mph, 215 km/h). Operationally the JTWC kept Jangmi at this intensity before it weakened as it made landfall on Taiwan, but in their season best track the JTWC revised their peak intensity estimates, concluding that Typhoon Jangmi was the only Category 5 of 2008 in any basin with maximum winds of 145 kts (165 mph 270 km/h) at 0600Z on September 27.
Tropical Storm Mekkhala
On September 25 a tropical disturbance formed to the south of China, in the Gulf of TonkinGulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
. Over the next few days it gradually intensified and late on September 27 the JMA designated it as a tropical depression. Early the next day the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the developing depression and then later that day, designated the depression as Tropical Depression 20W. Early on September 28 the JMA reported that the depression had intensified into a tropical storm and named it as Mekkhala. Later that day the JTWC upgraded Mekkhala to a Tropical Storm. However on the 30th it began to move inland and thus, early that day, JTWC issued its final advisory on Mekkhala as it is expected to dissipate within a short time. Later that day, the JMA downgraded the storm to a tropical depression and issued the final advisory.
At least 21 people have been killed due to Tropical Storm Mekkhala. Damages from the storm totaled to $6.6 million (USD)
Tropical Storm Higos (Pablo)
On September 27 a tropical disturbance formed in the Philippine SeaPhilippine Sea
The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east and north of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 2 million mi² on the western part of the North Pacific Ocean...
to the east of Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
, in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. During the next day the JTWC issued a TCFA on the tropical disturbance. Early on September 29 the JMA designated the disturbance as a tropical depression. Later that day both PAGASA and the JTWC designated the disturbance as a tropical depression, with PAGASA naming the depression as Pablo whilst the JTWC designated it as Tropical Depression 21W. The JTWC upgraded the depression to a tropical storm early in the afternoon. The JMA followed shortly after and upgraded the system to Tropical Storm Higos early on September 30. Higos tracked towards the northwest and made landfall in the eastern Philippines (on Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...
island) on October 1. Higos tracked over the Philippines as a tropical storm (but PAGASA downgraded it as a tropical depression) for most of the day before moving out over open waters. Once out over water, the JTWC downgraded Higos to a tropical depression, however, the JMA kept it as a tropical storm. As Higos neared landfall, it suddenly relocated, paralleling the northeastern coast of Hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
, China. The storm later made landfall on October 4 around 2 a.m. (CST) on the northern coastline of the island. JMA then issued its final advisory as Higos weakened to a tropical depression. The JTWC followed 12 hours later.
JTWC Tropical Storm 22W
On October 13 the Japan Meteorological Agency designated a low pressure area in the Gulf of Tonkin as a minor tropical depression with wind speeds of 25 knots (49 km/h). The China Meteorological Administration and Hong Kong Observatory both declared this system a tropical depression that day as it moved slowly towards northern Vietnam. On October 14, the JMA notes that the depression has strengthened to 30 knots (58.8 km/h) with little northwestward movement. Joint Typhoon Warning Center begun issuing warnings late morning as a tropical depression and in the evening upgraded it to a tropical storm forecasting it to strengthen even further before making its landfall over northern Vietnam. The system didn't gain anymore strength in the Gulf of Tonkin and on October 15 made landfall over northern Vietnam. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued its final advisory on this system expecting it to dissipate near Laos by October 16.Tropical Storm Bavi
On October 18 an area of low pressure well to the southeast of Japan quickly strengthened to become a Tropical Storm, and the JMA named it Bavi. Bavi strengthened to gain 50 mi/h winds, but transitioned into an extra-tropical cyclone on 21 October, while still well to the east of Japan.Severe Tropical Storm Maysak (Quinta-Siony)
On November 5, a tropical disturbance formed in the Philippine Sea to the northeast of ZamboangaZamboanga City
The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....
, in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Later that day the JTWC assessed the disturbances chances of forming in to a Significant Tropical cyclone within 24 hours as poor. Early the next day PAGASA
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...
designated the disturbance as a Tropical Depression and named it as Quinta, whilst the JTWC still monitored it as a disturbance. Later that day the JTWC upgraded the disturbances chances of forming in to a significant tropical cyclone to Good and issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming from a tropical disturbance that has been...
on the disturbance and then designated the disturbance as Tropical Depression 24W as they issued their first advisory on the Depression. On November 12, PAGASA issued their final warning as it transform into an low pressure area. PAGASA renamed the system on November 12 as it redeveloped. Later that day, they issued their final advisory again as it moved out of their area of responsibility.
Tropical Depression Rolly
Early on November 7 a Tropical disturbance formed about 475 nm to the east of Zamboanga in the Philippines. Animated multi-spectral imagery at this time showed that the disturbance had disorganized convection which was located near to a developing low level circulation center and was located within a favorable upper level environment for development. An anticyclone was providing vertical wind-sheer however the disturbance was already interacting with land as it was rapidly approaching Mindanao. Later that day after it had moved through parts of Mindanao it was named as Tropical Depression Rolly by PAGASA as they placed several parts of Mindanao and Visayas under public storm signal number one. All signals were then canceled the next morning as PAGASA released their final advisory on Rolly as it had weakened in to an area of low pressure over Palawan. The JTWC then declared that the low pressure area had dissipated later that morning. Rough seas produced by the depression capsized a vessel carrying eleven people. The Philippine Coast Guard quickly responded to the incident and rescued all crew members.Tropical Storm Haishen
Late on November 14, the JMA reported that a Minor Tropical Depression had formed to the south of the Ogasawara IslandsOgasawara Islands
The Bonin Islands, known in Japan as the are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan. Administratively, they are part of Ogasawara Municipality of Ogasawara Subprefecture, Tokyo...
however they did not start issuing advisories on it until early the next day. As the JMA were starting to issue advisories on the minor tropical depression, the JTWC reported that it was not expected to become a significant tropical cyclone within 24 hours as the depression was subtropical. During that afternoon the JMA upgraded the depression to a full tropical depression whilst the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the developing depression. During that evening the JMA reported that the depression had become a Tropical Storm and named it as Haishen, whilst the JTWC designated Haishen as Tropical Depression 25W.
Early on November 16, the JTWC upgraded the depression to a Tropical Storm and then both the JMA and the JTWC declared it had reached its peak wind speeds of 75 km/h (45 mph). At this time the JTWC reported that there were signs in satellite imagery that Haishen had started its extratropical transition and then issued their final advisory twelve hours later. The JMA continued to track Haishen as a Tropical Cyclone for another 24 hours, when they declared that Haishen had become an extratropical low. The extratropical low then raced across the Pacific ocean and crossed the International Dateline later that day, as an extratropical low to the south of the Aleutian Islands. There were no casualties or Impact reported from Haishen as it remained out to sea throughout its life.
Tropical Storm Noul (Tonyo)
On November 12 a tropical disturbance formed to the east of Mindanao in the Philippines. Later that day the JTWC assessed the disturbances' chances of forming in to a significant tropical cyclone within 24 hours as Poor. The next day as it moved towards Mindanao, PAGASA designated it as Tropical Depression Tonyo. Early on November 16, the JTWC declared the system Tropical Depression 26W. On November 16, PAGASA issued their final warning as the Depression moved to South China Sea. On November 17 the storm dissipated over Cambodia and both the JMA and JTWC issued their final warnings later that day.A landslide triggered by Noul killed a schoolteacher as she was heading home in Quang Ngai province
Quang Ngai Province
Quảng Ngãi is a province in the South Central Coast region of Vietnam, on the coast of South China Sea. It is located 883 km south of Hanoi and 838 km north of Ho Chi Minh City.-History:...
. At least 50 rescue workers searched for her through the debris before finding her body several days later. At least 20,000 people were in need of emergency assistance in the form of food, shelter, and water following the storm. Several other people were killed by landslides and flooding. In all, Tropical Storm Noul killed 21 people in southern Vietnam. During the storm, more than 2,000 people were isolated by floodwaters. A total of 200 homes were destroyed, another 13,500 were damaged 8,879 hectares of crops were destroyed and 60 km (37.3 mi) of roads were submerged. Damages from the storm were estimated at VND143 billion ($8.4 million USD). Offshore, a total of 115 boats sank due to the storm.
Tropical Depression
Late on December 1, the JTWC reported that a Tropical disturbance had formed about 390 km (242.3 mi) to the northwest of Brunei. At this time the disturbance had a weak cyclonic circulation with convective banding on the northern part of the low level circulation center and was in an area of moderate to high windshear. Early the next day the JMA designated the disturbance as a tropical depression whilst the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert because the low level circulation center had rapidly consolidated with improved convective banding. However the depression didn't develop any further and was downgraded to an area of low pressure by the JMA later that day. The TCFA was then canceled early on December 3 as the low level circulation center was now weakening and was now displaced of deep convection. The remnants of the depression were monitored by the JTWC until they dissipated early on December 6.Typhoon Dolphin (Ulysses)
Dolphin was formerly an area of convection that had formed on the tail end of a shearline on December 7. On December 8, the storm gained more tropical characteristics, thus JMA defined it as a tropical depression. The storm then moved westward during the following days. On December 10, the JTWC upgraded the storm to Tropical Depression 27W when it was east of Guam. On December 12, 27W was upgraded to Tropical Storm Dolphin by the JMA. The name Dolphin was submitted by Hong Kong. Later that day, Dolphin entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility and named Ulysses. On December 15, the JTWC upgraded Dolphin to a typhoon. The JMA also upgraded Dolphin to a typhoon several hours later. On December 16, the JMA downgraded Dolphin to a severe tropical storm. Both agencies issued their final advisories on Dolphin on December 18 as it transitioned into an extratropical cycloneExtratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scale low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth having neither tropical nor polar characteristics, and are connected with fronts and...
.
CPHC Tropical Depression Kika
The remnants of Tropical Storm Kika from the central Pacific basin crossed the International Date LineInternational Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
on August 14. Shortly after crossing into the western Pacific basin, the remnants regenerated into a tropical depression, despite the maximum sustained winds only being 25 mph (35 km/h). The depression briefly degenerated into a tropical disturbance on August 15 before becoming a tropical depression again. Kika dissipated the next day over open waters.
International names
Western North Pacific tropical cyclones are named by the RSMC Tokyo-Typhoon Center of the Japan Meteorological AgencyJapan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
. Names are selected from the following lists, there is no annual list. Names were contributed by 13 members of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee, except for Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The 13 nations or territories, along with the Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...
, each submitted 10 names, which are used in alphabetical order by the English name of the country. The first storm of the season was named Neoguri. The names Neoguri and Jangmi were corrected from Noguri and Changmi while Matmo, Nuri, Noul and Dolphin were used for the first time replacing Chataan, Rusa, Pongsona and Yanyan in the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
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Philippines
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services AdministrationPhilippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...
(PAGASA) uses its own naming scheme for tropical cyclones within its area of responsibility. Lists are recycled every four years. Ulysses, Vicky and Warren replaced Unding, Winnie and Violeta in the 2004 season.
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Retirement
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced that the name Frank would be retired due to extensive damage and loss of life.See also
- List of Pacific typhoon seasons
- 2008 Pacific hurricane season2008 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 2008 Pacific hurricane season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It officially started May 15, 2008 in the eastern Pacific, started on June 1, 2008 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 2008....
- 2008 Atlantic hurricane season2008 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was a very active hurricane season with sixteen named storms formed, including eight that became hurricanes and five that became major hurricanes. The season officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of...
- 2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone season2008 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 2008 North Indian cyclone season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The North Indian cyclone season has no official bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November...
- South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 2007-082007-08 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 2007–08 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It began on November 15, 2007, and ended on April 30, 2008, with the exception for Mauritius and the Seychelles, which ended May 15...
, 2008-092008-09 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 2008–09 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It began on November 15, 2008, and officially ended on April 30, 2009, with the exception for Mauritius and the Seychelles, for which it ended on May 15, 2009... - Australian region cyclone seasons: 2007-082007-08 Australian region cyclone seasonThe 2007–08 Australian region cyclone season got off to an early start with the formation on 27 July of the first Tropical Cyclone which was not upgraded operationally to a cyclone but was later upgraded to a Cyclone during post storm analysis. This was the second time that a tropical Cyclone had...
, 2008-092008-09 Australian region cyclone seasonThe 2008–09 Australian region cyclone season was an event in the cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It officially started on 1 November 2008, and officially ended on 30 April 2009... - South Pacific cyclone seasons: 2007-08, 2008-092008-09 South Pacific cyclone seasonThe 2008–09 South Pacific cyclone season began on December 1, 2008 with the formation of Tropical Disturbance 01F. This was 30 days after the season had officially begun on November 1, 2008. The season officially ended on April 30, 2009. Tropical cyclones that were between 160°E and 120°W and north...
External links
- Japan Meteorological Agency - RSMC Tokyo
- Joint Typhoon Warning Center
- PAGASA - Tropical Cyclone Information for the Philippines
- Tropical Cyclone Information issued by the Hong Kong Observatory
- Tropical Cyclone Information issued by South Korea
- Meaning of typhoon names (JMA)
- Satellite movie of 2008 Pacific typhoon season