1987 Pacific typhoon season

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The 1987 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1987, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December. 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 1987 Pacific hurricane season. Tropical Storms formed in the entire west pacific basin were assigned a name by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Tropical depressions in this basin have the "W" suffix added to their number. Tropical depressions that enter or form in the Philippine area of responsibility are assigned a name by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA. This can often result in the same storm having two names.

Pacific Typhoon Seasons
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1 Storms
2 1987 storm names
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Storms

24 tropical cyclones formed this year in the Western Pacific, of which 23 became tropical storms. 18 storms reached typhoon intensity, of which 6 reached super typhoon strength.

[edit] Super Typhoon Thelma

Typhoon Thelma, which formed on July 6, steadily intensified to a peak of 150 mph winds on the 11th while east of the northern Philippines. It turned sharply northward in response to a break in the ridge, slowly weakening as it remained east of any major landmass. On the 15th, 80 mph Typhoon Thelma hit the south coast of South Korea, causing massive flooding amounting to 123 casualties (with 212 missing) and $124 million (1987 USD) in crop and structural damage. In addition, Thelma brought heavy wind and rough seas to the Philippines that killed 12 people.

Image of Wynne near maximum intensity

[edit] Typhoon Wynne

This cyclone was the fifth typhoon of 1987. It became the third midget of the year and maintained an eye for six days. The initial disturbance formed east of the International Dateline on July 20. As it moved west-northwest, it organized into a tropical depression. It became a typhoon on July 23 and passed over the northern Marianas island of Alamagan. By July 26, Wynne reached its maximum intensity of 125 kt/145 mph. As it rounded the western periphery of the subtropical ridge, the cyclone became sheared from the north and became an exposed center. Even so, it maintained typhoon intensity until July 29. Recurving east of Honshu, Wynne continued to weaken, becoming an extratropical cyclone by the afternoon of July 31. ^[1]

[edit] Super Typhoon Betty

The monsoon trough spawned a tropical depression on August 7 while around 500 miles east of the Philippines. It drifted northwestward, becoming a tropical storm on the 9th and a typhoon on the 10th. Betty turned westward, where it rapidly intensified to a 160 mph super typhoon on the 11th. It weakened slightly to a 155 mph super typhoon before hitting the central Philippines on the 12th. Betty weakened to a 105 mph typhoon over the country, but restrengthened to a 135 mph typhoon over the South China Sea. Land interaction weakened Betty to a minimal typhoon before it hit central Vietnam on the 16th. Betty caused 20 deaths, with millions of dollars in damage from flooding.

[edit] Typhoon Gerald

On September 4 a tropical depression formed east of Luzon from the monsoon trough. It remained embedded within the trough, and moved erratically, drifting northward to become a tropical storm late on the 4th. Gerald turned more to the northwest, reached typhoon strength on the 7th, and continued to intensify to a peak of 120 mph on the 8th. It passed south of Taiwan, disrupting the circulation and weakening it as it continued to the west-northwest. Gerald hit southeast China as a 65 mph tropical storm on the 10th, and dissipated the next day. Mudslides and torrential flooding up to 16 inches in some locations resulted in $131 million in damage (1987 USD) and 127 fatalities.

[edit] Super Typhoon Lynn

Typhoon Lynn, having developed from the monsoon trough on October 14 over the open ocean, rapidly intensified to a 160 mph super typhoon on the 19th and 20th. It crossed through the Mariana Islands, and steadily weakened as it continued westward. Lynn passed just north of Luzon on the 23rd, and upper level winds weakened it to a tropical depression before it hit southern China on the 28th. Lynn's tight pressure gradient, in combination with a large high pressure area over China, caused heavy winds over Taiwan, resulting in the formation of torrential rains of up to 68 inches in Taipei. 42 people perished from the extreme flooding, the worst in Taiwan in 40 years.

[edit] Super Typhoon Nina

Main article: Typhoon Nina (1987)

Nina satellite image and storm path

Tropical Storm Nina, which began its life on November 16 in the eastern portion of the Western Pacific ocean, slowly strengthened to a typhoon on the 21st. It continued to strengthen as it passed through the Caroline Islands, and reached super typhoon strength on the 25th just east of the Philippines. Nina continued to intensify, and reached a peak of 165 mph winds just before hitting the central Philippines on the evening of the 25th. Nina exited the archipelago the next day as a 105 mph typhoon. Nina briefly re-strengthened to a 115 mph typhoon before turning to the north. The typhoon briefly threatened Hong Kong on the 28th, but vertical shear caused the low level circulation and upper level circulation to separate, leaving a rapidly weakening Nina to turn southward over the South China Sea. The storm finally dissipated on the 30th, but not after causing 1,036 casualties and extensive crop damage on its path.

[edit] 1987 storm names

Western North Pacific tropical cyclones were named by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The first storm of 1987 was named Orchid and the final one was named Phyllis.