![Maria, Bopha and Saomai 2006-08-07 0435Z](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Maria%2C_Bopha_and_Saomai_2006-08-07_0435Z.jpg)
A typhoon is a mature
tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
that develops between
180° and
100°E in the
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
. This region is referred to as the
Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, accounting for almost one-third of the world's annual tropical cyclones. For organizational purposes, the northern
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
is divided into three regions: the eastern (North America to
140°W), central (140°W to 180°), and western (180° to 100°E). The
Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for tropical cyclone forecasts is in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, with other tropical cyclone warning centers for the northwest Pacific in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
(the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
), the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. Although the RSMC names each system, the main name list itself is coordinated among 18 countries that have territories threatened by typhoons each year.
Within most of the northwestern Pacific, there are no official typhoon seasons as tropical cyclones form throughout the year. Like any tropical cyclone, there are several main requirements for typhoon formation and development: (1) sufficiently warm
sea surface temperature
Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mass ...
s, (2) atmospheric instability, (3) high
humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity depe ...
in the lower-to-middle levels of the troposphere, (4) enough
Coriolis effect to develop a
low pressure center, (5) a pre-existing low level focus or disturbance, and (6) a low vertical
wind shear. Although the majority of storms form between June and November, a few storms may occur between December and May (although tropical cyclone formation is at a minimum during that time). On average, the northwestern Pacific features the most numerous and intense tropical cyclones globally. Like other basins, they are steered by the
subtropical ridge
The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as Subtropics, subtropical ridges, or highs. It is a h ...
towards the west or northwest, with some systems recurving near and east of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The Philippines receive the brunt of the landfalls, with
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and Japan being less often impacted. However, some of the deadliest typhoons in history have struck China. Southern China has the longest record of typhoon impacts for the region, with a thousand-year sample via documents within their archives.
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
has received the wettest known typhoon on record for the northwest Pacific
tropical cyclone basins. However, Vietnam recognises its typhoon season as lasting from the beginning of June through to the end of November, with an average of four to six typhoons hitting the country annually.
Nomenclature
Etymology and usage
The term ''typhoon'' is the regional name in the northwest Pacific for a severe (or mature)
tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
, whereas ''hurricane'' is the regional term in the northeast Pacific and northern Atlantic. Elsewhere this is called a ''tropical cyclone'', ''severe tropical cyclone'', or ''severe cyclonic storm''.
The
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
''typhon'' has been attested with the meaning of whirlwind or storm since 1504. The ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
''
cites
Hindustani ''ṭūfān'' and
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
''tai fung'' giving rise to several early forms in English. The earliest forms in English—"touffon", later "tufan", "tuffon", and others—derive from
Hindustani ''ṭūfān'', with citations as early as 1588. From 1699 appears "tuffoon", later "tiffoon", derived from Chinese with spelling influenced by the older Hindustani-derived forms. The modern spelling "typhoon" dates to 1820, preceded by "tay-fun" in 1771 and "ty-foong", all derived from the Chinese ''tai fung''.
The
Hindustani source word ''ṭūfān'' ("violent storm";
Perso-Arabic
The Persian alphabet ( fa, الفبای فارسی, Alefbâye Fârsi) is a writing system that is a version of the Arabic script used for the Persian language spoken in Iran ( Western Persian) and Afghanistan (Dari Persian) since the 7th cent ...
: ur, , label=none,
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...
: hi, तूफ़ान, label=none)
comes from the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
''tūfān'' () meaning "storm" which comes from the verb ''tūfīdan'' (), "to roar, to blow furiously". The word طوفان (''ṭūfān'') is also derived from
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
as coming from ''ṭāfa'', to turn round.
The Chinese source is the word ''tai fung'' or ''taifeng''
(). The modern
Japanese word, 台風 (たいふう, ''taifuu''); as well as the modern
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n word 태풍 (taepung) are also derived from Chinese. The first character is normally used to mean "pedestal" or "stand", but is actually a simplification of the older Chinese character
颱, which means "typhoon"; thus the word originally meant "typhoon wind". In Vietnamese, "大 風" (''đại phong)'' translates literally to "strong winds", but the phrase "''bão nhiệt đới" (''暴熱帶 'Ferocious tropical storm') is used instead.
The
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
grc, Τυφῶν, label=none (''Typhôn'', "
Typhon
Typhon (; grc, Τυφῶν, Typhôn, ), also Typhoeus (; grc, Τυφωεύς, Typhōeús, label=none), Typhaon ( grc, Τυφάων, Typháōn, label=none) or Typhos ( grc, Τυφώς, Typhṓs, label=none), was a monstrous serpentine giant an ...
") is related and has secondarily influenced the word.
The Persian term may originally have been influenced by the Greek word.
Intensity classifications
A ''tropical depression'' is the lowest category that the
Japan Meteorological Agency
The , abbreviated JMA, is an agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is charged with gathering and providing results for the public in Japan that are obtained from data based on daily scientific observation an ...
uses and is the term used for a tropical system that has wind speeds not exceeding .
A tropical depression is upgraded to a ''tropical storm'' should its
sustained wind speeds exceed . Tropical storms also receive official names from RSMC Tokyo.
Should the storm intensify further and reach sustained wind speeds of then it will be classified as a ''severe tropical storm''.
Once the system's maximum sustained winds reach wind speeds of , the JMA will designate the tropical cyclone as a ''typhoon''—the highest category on its scale.
Since 2009 the
Hong Kong Observatory
The Hong Kong Observatory is a weather forecast agency of the government of Hong Kong. The Observatory forecasts the weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards. It also monitors and makes assessments on radiation levels in Ho ...
has divided typhoons into three different classifications: ''typhoon'', ''severe typhoon'' and ''super typhoon''.
A ''typhoon'' has wind speed of 64–79 knots (73–91 mph; 118–149 km/h), a severe typhoon has winds of at least , and a super typhoon has winds of at least .
The
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
'
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
(JTWC) unofficially classifies typhoons with wind speeds of at least 130 knots (67 m/s; 150 mph; 241 km/h)—the equivalent of a strong Category 4 storm in the
Saffir-Simpson scale—as ''super typhoons''. However, the maximum sustained wind speed measurements that the JTWC uses are based on a 1-minute averaging period, akin to the U.S.'s
National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...
and
Central Pacific Hurricane Center. As a result, the JTWC's wind reports are higher than JMA's measurements, as the latter is based on a 10-minute averaging interval.
Genesis
![Depth26Cisotherm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Depth26Cisotherm.png)
There are six main requirements for tropical cyclogenesis: sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures, atmospheric instability, high
humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity depe ...
in the lower to middle levels of the
troposphere
The troposphere is the first and lowest layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, and contains 75% of the total mass of the planetary atmosphere, 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols, and is where most weather phenomena occur. From ...
, enough
Coriolis force
In physics, the Coriolis force is an inertial or fictitious force that acts on objects in motion within a frame of reference that rotates with respect to an inertial frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the force acts to the ...
to develop a low pressure center, a pre-existing low level focus or disturbance, and low vertical wind shear. While these conditions are necessary for tropical cyclone formation,
they do not guarantee that a tropical cyclone will form. Normally, an ocean temperature of 26.5 °C (79.7 °F) spanning through a depth of at least is considered the minimum to maintain the special
mesocyclone that is the tropical cyclone. These warm waters are needed to maintain the
warm core
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
that fuels tropical systems. A minimum distance of 500 km (300 mi) from the
equator
The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
is normally needed for tropical cyclogenesis.
Whether it be a depression in the
Intertropical Convergence Zone
The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the thermal e ...
(ITCZ) or
monsoon trough, a broad
surface front, or an
outflow boundary, a low level feature with sufficient
vorticity and convergence is required to begin tropical cyclogenesis. About 85 to 90 percent of Pacific typhoons form within the
monsoon trough.
Even with perfect upper-level conditions and the required atmospheric instability, the lack of a surface focus will prevent the development of organized convection and a surface low. Vertical wind shear of less than 10 m/s (20 kn, 33 ft/s) between the ocean surface and the
tropopause is required for tropical cyclone development.
[ Chris Landsea (1 June 2010)]
Subject: A15) How do tropical cyclones form ?
National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...
. Retrieved on 2011-03-24. Typically with Pacific typhoons, there are two
outflow
Outflow may refer to:
*Capital outflow, the capital leaving a particular economy
*Bipolar outflow, in astronomy, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star
*Outflow (hydrology), the discharge of a lake or other reservoir system
* Outflow ...
jets: one to the north ahead of an upper trough in the
Westerlies
The westerlies, anti-trades, or prevailing westerlies, are prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. They originate from the high-pressure areas in the horse latitudes and trend to ...
, and a second towards the equator.
In general, the westerly wind increases associated with the
Madden–Julian oscillation lead to increased tropical cyclogenesis in all
tropical cyclone basins
Traditionally, areas of tropical cyclone formation are divided into seven basins. These include the north Atlantic Ocean, the eastern and western parts of the northern Pacific Ocean, the southwestern Pacific, the southwestern and southeastern Ind ...
. As the oscillation propagates from west to east, it leads to an eastward march in tropical cyclogenesis with time during that hemisphere's summer season.
On average, twice per year twin tropical cyclones will form in the western Pacific Ocean, near the
5th parallel north
The 5th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 5 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and South America.
The Pacific Ocean is at its ...
and the
5th parallel south
The 5th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 5 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America.
Around the worl ...
, along the same meridian, or line of longitude. There is an inverse relationship between tropical cyclone activity in the western Pacific basin and the North Atlantic basin, however. When one basin is active, the other is normally quiet, and vice versa. The main reason for this appears to be the phase of the Madden–Julian oscillation, or MJO, which is normally in opposite modes between the two basins at any given time.
Frequency
Nearly one-third of the world's tropical cyclones form within the western Pacific. This makes this basin the most active on Earth.
Pacific typhoons have formed year-round, with peak months from August to October. The peak months correspond to that of the
Atlantic hurricane season
The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year from June through November when tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean, referred to in North American countries as hurricanes, tropical storms, or tropical depressions. In addition ...
s. Along with a high storm frequency, this basin also features the most globally
intense storms on record. One of the most recent busy seasons was
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
. Tropical cyclones form in any month of the year across the northwest Pacific Ocean and concentrate around June and November in the northern Indian Ocean. The area just northeast of the Philippines is the most active place on Earth for tropical cyclones to exist.
Across the Philippines themselves, activity reaches a minimum in February, before increasing steadily through June and spiking from July through October, with September being the most active month for tropical cyclones across the
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
. Activity falls off significantly in November, although
Typhoon Haiyan
Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...
, the strongest Philippine typhoon on record, was a November typhoon. The most frequently impacted areas of the Philippines by tropical cyclones are northern and central
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
and eastern
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao ...
. A ten-year average of satellite determined precipitation showed that at least 30 percent of the annual rainfall in the northern Philippines could be traced to tropical cyclones, while the southern islands receive less than 10 percent of their annual rainfall from tropical cyclones. The genesis and intensity of typhoons are also modulated by slow variation of the sea surface temperature and circulation features following a near-10-year frequency.
Paths
![Pacific typhoon tracks 1980-2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Pacific_typhoon_tracks_1980-2005.jpg)
Most tropical cyclones form on the side of the subtropical ridge closer to the equator, then move poleward past the ridge axis before recurving north and northeast into the main belt of the
Westerlies
The westerlies, anti-trades, or prevailing westerlies, are prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. They originate from the high-pressure areas in the horse latitudes and trend to ...
. Most typhoons form in a region in the northwest Pacific known as typhoon alley, where the planet's most powerful tropical cyclones most frequently develop.
When the subtropical ridge shifts due to
El Niño, so will the preferred tropical cyclone tracks. Areas west of Japan and
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
tend to experience many fewer September–November tropical cyclone impacts during El Niño and neutral years. During El Niño years, the break in the subtropical ridge tends to lie near
130°E, which would favor the Japanese archipelago.
During La Niña years, the formation of tropical cyclones, and the subtropical ridge position, shift westward across the western Pacific Ocean, which increases the landfall threat to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and greater intensity to
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
Those that form near the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
find their way to
Jeju Island, Korea. Typhoon paths follow three general directions.
* Straight track (or straight runner). A general westward path affects the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, southern China,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
* A parabolic recurving track. Storms recurving affect the eastern Philippines, eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East.
* Northward track. From point of origin, the storm follows a northerly direction, only affecting small islands.
A rare few storms, like
Hurricane John, were redesignated as typhoons as they originated in the Eastern/Central Pacific and moved into the western Pacific.
Basin monitoring
Within the Western Pacific,
RSMC Tokyo-Typhoon Center, part of the
Japan Meteorological Agency
The , abbreviated JMA, is an agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is charged with gathering and providing results for the public in Japan that are obtained from data based on daily scientific observation an ...
, has had the official warning responsibility for the whole of the Western Pacific since 1989,
and the naming responsibility for systems of tropical storm strength or greater since 2000.
However each
National Meteorological and Hydrological Service within the western Pacific has the responsibility for issuing warnings for land areas about tropical cyclones affecting their country, such as the Joint Typhoon Warning Center for United States agencies, the
(PAGASA) for interests in the island archipelago nation, and the
Hong Kong Observatory
The Hong Kong Observatory is a weather forecast agency of the government of Hong Kong. The Observatory forecasts the weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards. It also monitors and makes assessments on radiation levels in Ho ...
for storms that come close enough to cause the issuance of
warning signals.
Name sources and name list
The list of names consists of entries from 14 southeast and east Asian nations and regions and the United States who have territories directly affected by typhoons. The submitted names are arranged into a list, the names on the list will be used from up to down, from left to right. When all names on the list are used, it will start again from the left-top corner. When a typhoon causes damage in a region, the affected region can request for retiring the name in the next session of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee. A new name will be decided by the region whose name was retired. Unlike tropical cyclones in other parts of the world, typhoons are not named after people. Instead, they generally refer to animals, flowers, astrological signs, and a few personal names. However, Philippines (PAGASA) retains its own naming list, which consists of both human names and other things.
Storms that cross the date line from the central Pacific retain their original name, but the designation of hurricane becomes typhoon.
Records
The most active Western Pacific typhoon season was in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
, when 39 storms of tropical storm strength formed. Only 15 seasons had 30 or more storms developing since reliable records began. The least activity seen in the northwest Pacific Ocean was during the
2010 Pacific typhoon season
The 2010 Pacific typhoon season, with 14 named storms is the least active Pacific typhoon season on record. Seven of them strengthened into typhoons while one reached super typhoon intensity. The Pacific typhoon season during 2010 was in fact les ...
, when only 14 tropical storms and seven typhoons formed. In the Philippines, the most active season, since 1945, for tropical cyclone strikes was
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
when nineteen tropical cyclones moved through the country. There was only one tropical cyclone that moved through the Philippines in
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
. The
2004 Pacific typhoon season
The 2004 Pacific typhoon season was an extremely active season that featured the second-highest ACE ever recorded in a single season, second only to 1997, which featured 29 named storms, nineteen typhoons, and six super typhoons. It was an event ...
was the busiest for Okinawa since 1957. Within
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
in southern China, during the past thousand years, the most active decades for typhoon strikes were the 1660s and 1670s.
The highest reliably-estimated
maximum sustained wind
The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone is a common
indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, it is found within the eyewall at a distance defined as the radius of maximum wind, or RMW. Unl ...
s on record for a typhoon was that of
Typhoon Haiyan
Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...
at shortly before its landfall in the central
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
on November 8, 2013. The most intense storm based on minimum pressure was
Typhoon Tip in the northwestern Pacific Ocean in 1979, which reached a minimum pressure of and maximum sustained wind speeds of 165 knots (85 m/s, 190 mph, 310 km/h).
The deadliest typhoon of the 20th century was
Typhoon Nina, which killed nearly 100,000 in China in 1975 due to a flood that caused 12 reservoirs to fail. After
Typhoon Morakot
Typhoon Morakot, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Kiko, was the deadliest typhoon to impact Taiwan in recorded history. The eighth named storm and fourth typhoon of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season, Morakot wrought catastrophic damage in Taiwa ...
landed in Taiwan at midnight on August 8, 2009, almost the entire southern region of Taiwan (
Chiayi County/
Chiayi City,
Tainan County
Tainan County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Sinying City.
History
Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () shortly after the end of World War II ...
/
Tainan City
Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of hist ...
(now merged as Tainan),
Kaohsiung County
Kaohsiung County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was located in Fongshan City.
History
Kaohsiung County was established on 6 December 1945 on the territory of Takao Prefecture () shortly after the end of W ...
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Kaohsiung City
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiu ...
(now merged as Kaohsiung), and
Pingtung County
Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...
) and parts of
Taitung County
Taitung County (; Mandarin pinyin: ''Táidōng Xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Tâi-tang-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Thòi-tûng-yen''; Paiwan: ''Valangaw'';lit:Eastern part of Taiwan) is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island' ...
and
Nantou County
Nantou County (; Hokkien POJ: ''Lâm-tâu-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Nàm-thèu-yen'') is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives fro ...
were flooded by record-breaking heavy rain. The rainfall in
Pingtung County
Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...
reached 2,327 millimeters (91.6 in), breaking all rainfall records of any single place in Taiwan induced by a single typhoon,
and making the cyclone the wettest known typhoon.
See also
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Pacific typhoon season
The following is a list of Pacific typhoon seasons. The seasons are limited to the north of the equator between the 100th meridian east and the 180th meridian (aka Prime Antimeridian).
Seasons Pre-1940
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
...
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Tropical cyclones in 2022
In 2022, tropical cyclones have formed in seven major bodies of water, commonly known as tropical cyclone basins. Tropical cyclones will be named by various weather agencies when they attain maximum sustained winds of . So far, 132 systems hav ...
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Pacific typhoon season
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Effects of tropical cyclones
The effects of tropical cyclones include heavy rain, strong wind, large storm surges near landfall, and tornadoes. The destruction from a tropical cyclone, such as a hurricane or tropical storm, depends mainly on its intensity, its size, and its ...
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China tropical cyclone rainfall climatology
China is a mountainous country, which leads to rapid dissipation of cyclones that move inland as well as significant amounts of rain from those dissipating cyclones. Typhoon Nina in 1975 caused the collapse of two huge reservoirs and ten smaller ...
For storms that have affected countries in this basin:
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Tropical cyclones in Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in the southern part of Southeast Asia and is located to the south of the South China Sea. The sea separates two regions which consists of Peninsular Malaysia, located within the Malay Peninsula, and East Malaysia, located w ...
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Tropical cyclones in Vietnam
Vietnam is a southeast Asian country, and is the easternmost country of mainland Southeast Asia. It borders the East Sea, hence, seeing the increased likeliness of tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones in this area are considered to be part of the ...
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Typhoons in the Korean peninsula
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Typhoons in the Philippines
Notes
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacific Typhoon
Tropical cyclone meteorology