1987 Pacific typhoon season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 May and November.^[1] 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.

Contents 1 Storms 1.1 Super Typhoon Thelma 1.2 Typhoon Wynne 1.3 Super Typhoon Betty/Herming 1.4 Typhoon Freda 1.5 Typhoon Gerald 1.6 Super Typhoon Holly 1.7 Typhoon Kelly 1.8 Super Typhoon Lynn 1.9 Super Typhoon Nina/Sisang 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

Super Typhoon Thelma 4
Duration	July 7—July 16
Intensity	130 knots, 911 mbar

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.^[2]

[edit] Typhoon Wynne

Typhoon Wynne 4
Duration	July 22—July 31
Intensity	125 knots, 921 mbar

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.^[3]

[edit] Super Typhoon Betty/Herming

Super Typhoon Betty/Herming 5
Duration	August 8—August 16
Intensity	140 knots, 891 mbar

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.^[4] Betty caused 94 deaths, with damage from flooding adding up to 2 billion Philippine Pesos.^[5]

[edit] Typhoon Freda

Typhoon Freda 4
Duration	September 4—September 17
Intensity	125 knots), 916 mbar

The middle cyclone of a set of triplets, Freda stalled briefly after Gerald dissipated and Holly swung around its northeast side, with Freda eventually following Holly out of sea by recurving east of Japan.^[6]

[edit] Typhoon Gerald

Typhoon Gerald 3
Duration	September 4—September 10
Intensity	105 knots, 937 mbar

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.^[7]

[edit] Super Typhoon Holly

Super Typhoon Holly 5
Duration	September 4—September 15
Intensity	140 knots, 898 mbar

The eastern member of a set of triplets, Holly recurved well out to sea, not affecting mainland Asia.^[8]

[edit] Typhoon Kelly

Typhoon Kelly 2
Duration	October 9—October 16
Intensity	95 knots, 950 mbar

A tropical disturbance formed east of the southern Philippines on October 7. Moving north-northwest for much of its life cycle, the system became a tropical depression and strengthened into a tropical storm on October 11 and a typhoon on October 12. Recurving near the 26th parallel, Kelly struck southern Japan as a typhoon early on October 17 and rapidly transitioned into an extratropical cyclone later that day in the Sea of Japan.^[9]

[edit] Super Typhoon Lynn

Super Typhoon Lynn 5
Duration	October 15—October 27
Intensity	140 knots, 898 mbar

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.^[10]

[edit] Super Typhoon Nina/Sisang

Super Typhoon Nina/Sisang 5
Duration	November 16—November 28
Intensity	145 knots, 891 mbar

Main article: Typhoon Nina (1987)

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 of 1.12 billion Philippine Pesos (1987 pesos).^[11]

[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.

Andy Brenda Cecil Dot Ellis Faye Gordon Hope Irving Judy Ken Lola Mac Nancy Owen Peggy Roger Sarah Tip Vera Wayne

Abby Ben Carmen Dom Ellen Forrest Georgia Herbert Ida Joe Kim Lex Marge Norris Orchid 1W Percy 2W Ruth 3W Sperry 4W Thelma 5W Vernon 6W Wynn 7W

Alex 8W Betty 9W Cary 10W Dinah 11W Ed 12W Freda 13W Gerald 14W Holly 15W Ian 16W June 18W Kelly 19W Lynn 20W Maury 21W Nina 22W Ogden 23W Phyllis 24W Roy Susan Thad Vanessa Warren

Agnes Bill Clara Doyle Elsie Fabian Gay Hal Irma Jeff Kit Lee Mamie Nelson Odessa Pat Ruby Skip Tess Val Winona

One central Pacific storm, Hurricane Peke, crossed into this basin. It became Typhoon Peke, keeping its original name and "C" suffix.

[edit] See also

• 1987 Pacific hurricane season
• 1987 Atlantic hurricane season
• 1987 North Indian cyclone season

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Typhoon2000 Philippine typhoon website.
• Philippine Area of Responsibility.
• Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
• Meaning of Tokyo Typhoon Centre names.