| Typhoon (JMA) | |
|---|---|
| Category 5 super typhoon (SSHS) | |
| Typhoon Bess at its peak intensity | |
| Formed | July 21, 1982 |
| Dissipated | August 3, 1982 |
| Highest winds | 10-minute sustained: 230 km/h (145 mph) 1-minute sustained: 260 km/h (160 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 900 mbar (hPa; 26.58 inHg) |
| Fatalities | 59 direct |
| Areas affected | Japan |
| Part of the 1982 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Bess (international designation: 8210, JTWC designation: 11W) was the eleventh tropical storm, sixth typhoon, and first super typhoon of the 1982 Pacific typhoon season. A powerful super typhoon, Bess reached peak winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) over the open waters of the western Pacific Ocean. The typhoon came near and struck southeastern Japan in early August as a minimal category 1 typhoon, causing great damage and 59 casualties. [1]
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The monsoon trough extended across the Western Pacific Ocean during the middle of July. Two areas of convection organized on the eastern end, and the easternmost developed into Tropical Depression Eleven-W over the Marshall Islands late on July 21. The other area became Typhoon Andy. The tropical depression, initially disorganized with loosely organized cloud bands, moved to the northwest and, due to an increase of deep convection, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Bess on July 23.[2]
Tropical Storm Bess continued to move to the west-northwest. In its formative stages, the storm's low-level center and mid-level circulation were not aligned, but when this problem was fixed on July 24 Bess quickly intensified into a typhoon. The westward building of the subtropical ridge forced the typhoon westward, and a passing shortwave trough resulted in Bess drifting to the southwest. After executing a 23 mile (37 km) wide loop, another short wave trough on July 27 allowed Bess to turn to the northwest and intensify.[2] While moving to the northwest on July 28 and the 29th, Bess rapidly strengthened, and attained a peak intensity of 160 mph (260 km/h) 285 miles (460 km) to the southeast of Iwo Jima.
A weakness in the subtropical ridge allowed the typhoon to turn to the north, where unfavorable conditions steadily weakened the typhoon. Bess accelerated to the north, and made landfall on southern Honshū in Japan as a minimal typhoon on August 1. It crossed the archipelago, became extratropical in the Sea of Japan on August 2, and was absorbed by a larger low pressure center the next day.[2]
While crossing over central Japan, Typhoon Bess dropped torrential rainfall, setting off 1,557 landslides across the country. Damage was greatest in Honshū where Bess made landfall. The extreme deluge flooded over 27,000 homes, leaving 25,000 homeless and 59 dead. On the Atsumi Peninsula, human suffering was greatest, where nearly 300 acres (7.4 km²) were flooded. The flooding also washed out over 100 bridges, and Bess's powerful waves caused over 25 ships to be either run aground or destroyed.[2]
After this usage of the name Bess, it was retired by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center and was replaced with Brenda.
