| Typhoon (JMA) | |
|---|---|
| Category 5 super typhoon (SSHS) | |
| Typhoon Tip at its record peak intensity on October 12, 1979 | |
| Formed | October 4, 1979 |
| Dissipated | October 19, 1979 |
| Highest winds | 10-minute sustained: 260 km/h (160 mph) 1-minute sustained: 305 km/h (190 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 870 mbar (hPa; 25.69 inHg) (Worldwide record low) |
| Fatalities | 86 direct, 13 indirect |
| Areas affected | Guam, Japan |
| Part of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Tip (international designation: 7920, JTWC designation: 23W, PAGASA name: Warling) was a tropical cyclone that remains the largest and most intense ever recorded. The nineteenth tropical storm and twelfth typhoon of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season, Tip developed out of a disturbance in the monsoon trough on October 4 near Pohnpei. Initially, a tropical storm to its northwest hindered the development and motion of Tip, though after it tracked further north Tip was able to intensify. After passing Guam, it rapidly intensified and reached peak winds of 305 km/h (190 mph)[nb 1] and a worldwide record low sea-level pressure of 870 mbar (870.0 hPa; 25.69 inHg) on October 12. At its peak strength, it was also the largest tropical cyclone on record with a wind diameter of 2,220 km (1,380 mi). It slowly weakened as it continued west-northwestward and later turned to the northeast under the influence of an approaching trough. Tip made landfall on southern Japan on October 19 and became an extratropical cyclone shortly thereafter.
U.S. Air Force aircraft flew 60 weather reconnaissance missions into the typhoon, making Tip one of the most closely observed tropical cyclones.[1] Rainfall from the typhoon led to a fire that killed 13 Marines and injured 68 at a United States Marine Corps training camp in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan. Elsewhere in the country, the typhoon led to widespread flooding and 42 deaths, and offshore shipwrecks left 44 people killed or missing.
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Three circulations developed within the monsoon trough that extended from the Philippines to the Marshall Islands. A disturbance to the southwest of Guam developed into Tropical Storm Roger on October 3, and later on the same day the tropical disturbance which would later become Typhoon Tip developed to the south of Pohnpei. Strong flow from across the equator was drawn into the circulation of Roger, initially preventing significant development of the disturbance that would become Tip. Despite the unfavorable air pattern, the tropical disturbance near Pohnpei gradually organized as it moved westward. Due to the large-scale circulation pattern into Tropical Storm Roger, the tropical disturbance moved erratically and slowly executed a cyclonic loop to the southeast of Chuuk. A reconnaissance aircraft flight into the system late on October 4 confirmed the existence of a closed low-level circulation, and early on October 5 the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued its first warning on Tropical Depression Twenty-Three.[1]
While executing a loop near Chuuk, the tropical depression intensified into Tropical Storm Tip, though the storm failed to organize significantly due to the influence of Tropical Storm Roger. Reconnaissance aircraft provided the track of the surface circulation, since satellite imagery estimated the center was located about 60 km (37 mi) from its true position. After drifting erratically for several days, Tip began a steady northwest motion on October 8. By that time, Tropical Storm Roger had become an extratropical cyclone, resulting in the southerly flow to be entrained into Tip. Additionally, an area of a tropical upper tropospheric trough moved to the north of Guam, providing an excellent outflow channel north of Tip. Initially, the storm was predicted to continue northwestward and make landfall on Guam, though it turned to the west early on October 9, passing about 45 km (28 mi) south of the island. Later that day, Tip intensified to attain typhoon status.[1]
As a result of very favorable conditions for development, Typhoon Tip rapidly intensified over the open waters of the western Pacific Ocean. Late on October 10, the typhoon attained wind speeds equal to Category 4 strength on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, and it became a super typhoon the next day. The central pressure dropped by 92 mbar (92.0 hPa; 2.72 inHg) from October 9 to 11, during which the circulation pattern of Typhoon Tip expanded to a record diameter of 2,220 km (1,380 mi). The typhoon continued to intensify further, and early on October 12 reconnaissance aircraft recorded a worldwide record-low pressure of 870 mbar (870.0 hPa; 25.69 inHg) with winds of 305 km/h (190 mph), when Tip was located about 840 km (520 mi) west-northwest of Guam.[1] In its best track, the Japan Meteorological Agency listed Tip as peaking with 10-minute sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h).[2] At the time of its peak strength, its eye was 15 km (9.3 mi) wide.[1] Tip crossed 135°E on the afternoon of October 13, prompting the Philippine Weather Bureau to issue warnings on Typhoon Tip, assigning it the local name Warling.
After peaking in intensity, Tip's winds weakened to 230 km/h (140 mph) and remained at that intensity for several days as the typhoon continued west-northwestward. For five days after reaching its peak strength, the average radius of winds stronger than 55 km/h (34 mph) extended over 1,100 km (684 mi). On October 17, Tip began to weaken steadily and decrease in size; it began recurving northeastward under the influence of a mid-level trough the next day. After passing about 65 km (40 mi) east of Okinawa, its forward motion accelerated to 75 km/h (47 mph) Tip made landfall on the Japanese island of Honshū with winds of about 130 km/h (81 mph) on October 19. It continued rapidly northeastward through the country and became an extratropical cyclone over northern Honshū a few hours after moving ashore.[1] The extratropical remnant of Tip proceeded northeastward and gradually weakened, crossing the International Date Line on October 22. It was last observed near the Aleutian Islands near Alaska.[2]
The typhoon produced heavy rainfall early in its lifetime while passing near Guam, including a total of 23.1 cm (9.09 in) at Andersen Air Force Base.[1] The outer rainbands of the large circulation of Tip produced moderate rainfall in the mountainous regions of the Philippine island of Luzon.[3]
| Most intense Pacific typhoons | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typhoon | Season | Pressure | ||||
| hPa | inHg | |||||
| 1 | Tip | 1979 | 870 | 25.7 | ||
| 2 | Nora | 1973 | 875 | 25.8 | ||
| June | 1975 | |||||
| 4 | Ida | 1958 | 877 | 25.9 | ||
| 5 | Kit | 1966 | 880 | 26.0 | ||
| Rita | 1978 | |||||
| Vanessa | 1984 | |||||
| 8 | Nina | 1953 | 885 | 26.1 | ||
| Joan | 1959 | |||||
| Irma | 1971 | |||||
| Forrest | 1983 | |||||
| Megi | 2010 | |||||
| Source:JMA Typhoon Best Track Analysis Information for the North Western Pacific Ocean.[2] |
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Heavy rainfall from the typhoon breached a flood-retaining wall at Camp Fuji, a training facility for the United States Marine Corps near Yokosuka.[4] Marines inside the camp weathered the storm inside huts situated at the base of a hill which housed a fuel farm. The breach led to hoses being dislodged from two rubber storage bladders, releasing large quantities of fuel. The fuel flowed down the hill and was ignited by a heater used to warm one of the huts.[5][6][7] The resultant fire killed 13 Marines, injured 68,[1] and caused moderate damage to the facility. The facility's barracks were destroyed,[4] along with fifteen huts and several other structures.[5] The barracks were rebuilt,[4] and a memorial was established for those who lost their lives in the fire.[5]
During recurvature, Typhoon Tip passed about 65 km (40 mi) east of Okinawa. Sustained winds reached 72 km/h (44 mph), with gusts to 112 km/h (69 mph). Sustained wind velocities in Japan are not known, though they were estimated at minimal typhoon strength. The passage of the typhoon through the region resulted in millions of dollars in damage to the agricultural and fishing industries of the country.[1] Eight ships were grounded or sunk by Tip, leaving 44 fishermen dead or unaccounted for. A Chinese freighter broke in half as a result of the typhoon, though its crew of 46 were rescued.[3] The rainfall led to over 600 mudslides throughout the mountainous regions of Japan and flooded more than 22,000 homes; 42 people died throughout the country, with another 71 missing and 283 injured.[3] River embankments broke in 70 places, destroying 27 bridges, while about 105 dikes were destroyed. Following the storm, at least 11,000 people were left homeless.[8][9] Transportation in the country was disrupted; 200 trains and 160 domestic airline flights were canceled.[10] Tip was described as the most severe storm to strike Japan in 13 years.[11]
Typhoon Tip was the largest tropical cyclone on record, with a diameter of 1,380 mi (2,220 km)—almost double the previous record of 700 mi (1,130 km) set by Typhoon Marge in August 1951.[12][13][14] At its largest, Tip was nearly half as large as the continental United States.[15] At its peak intensity, the temperature inside the eye of Typhoon Tip was 30 °C (86 °F) and described as exceptionally high.[1] With 10-minute sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h), Typhoon Tip is the strongest cyclone in the complete tropical cyclone listing by the Japan Meteorological Agency.[2]
The typhoon was also the most intense tropical cyclone on record with a pressure of 870 mbar (870.0 hPa; 25.69 inHg), 6 mbar (6.0 hPa; 0.18 inHg) lower than previous record set by Super Typhoon June in 1975.[1][16][17] The records set by Tip still stand. However, due to the end of routine reconnaissance aircraft in the western Pacific Ocean in August 1987, modern researchers questioned if Tip is the strongest on record. After a detailed study, three researchers determined that two typhoons, Angela in 1995 and Gay in 1992, maintained higher Dvorak numbers than Tip, and believed that one or both of the two may have been more intense than Tip.[18] Also, Cyclone Monica of 2006 was rated at 869 mbar (869.0 hPa; 25.66 inHg) by Dvorak classifications, although this was dismissed since the source was unofficial. So far, due to lack of direct observations, it is unknown if Tip maintains the world record.[18] Despite the intensity and damage, the name was not retired and was reused in 1983, 1986, and 1989.[2]
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Tropical cyclones of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season |
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