MONTHLY GLOBAL TROPICAL CYCLONE SUMMARY
SEPTEMBER, 2006
Third Installment
SPECIAL NOTE: The September summary is being issued in three
installments. The first covered the Atlantic basin while the second
covered the Northeast Pacific and North Indian Ocean basins plus
contained an extra feature. This third and final installment covers
the Northwest Pacific basin.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Almost two years ago I began including links to
track graphics prepared by John Diebolt of Tucson, Arizona, and archived
on his tropical cyclone website. A few months back John experienced a
disk crash which resulted in a error. He had to request assistance from
the programmer who had written the map-generation software, but so far
has not been able to get the problem solved. As a convenience to users,
I've also recently been including links to the individual tabular tracks,
prepared by myself, which John had archived on his website. Now, due to
family concerns, John has not had time to place the tracks for recent
cyclones on the website. I have checked the websites listed at the end
of the summaries and found that the entire September track file has been
archived on two of them. The links are:
http://australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/2007/trak0609.htm
http://www.typhoon2000.ph/garyp_mgtcs/sep06tks.txt
(For general comments about the nature of these summaries, as well as
information on how to download the tabular cyclone track files, see
the Author's Note at the end of this summary.)
*************************************************************************
SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
--> Atlantic more active--four hurricanes form but all recurve well out
in Atlantic--Bermuda, Newfoundland, Azores, Spain, Ireland and
Great Britain experience some effects
--> Major hurricane strikes mainland Mexico
--> Intense typhoon slashes through central Phlippines while another
strikes Ryukyus
--> Strong Arabian Sea tropical storm forms just off western Indian
coast
*************************************************************************
ACTIVITY BY BASINS
ATLANTIC (ATL) - North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico
Activity for September: 2 hurricanes
2 major hurricanes
NOTE!!! The Atlantic basin was covered in the first installment of the
September summary.
*************************************************************************
NORTHEAST PACIFIC (NEP) - North Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 180
Activity for September: 2 tropical depressions **
1 tropical storm
1 major hurricane
** - both the non-developing tropical depressions formed in the Central
North Pacific region
NOTE!!! The Northeast Pacific basin was covered in the second installment
of the September summary.
*************************************************************************
NORTHWEST PACIFIC (NWP) - North Pacific Ocean West of Longitude 180
Activity for September: 1 possible tropical depression or storm **
3 tropical depressions ++
1 tropical storm ##
2 typhoons
2 super typhoons &&
** - system received repeated Dvorak ratings of T2.5 from both JTWC and
AFWA but was never started as a tropical depression, nor so
classified by JMA
++ - one of these was classified as a tropical depression by JMA only;
another formed late in month and became named tropical cyclone in
early October
## - system was classified as a minimal tropical storm by JTWC and CMA
only
&& - one of these was a visitor from the Central North Pacific
Sources of Information
----------------------
Most of the information presented below is based upon tropical
cyclone warnings and significant tropical weather outlooks issued
by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center of the U. S. Air Force and
Navy (JTWC), located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the companion
tropical cyclone tracks file, I normally annotate track coordinates
from some of the various Asian warning centers when their center
positions differ from JTWC's by usually 40-50 nm or more. All
references to sustained winds imply a 1-minute averaging period
unless otherwise noted.
Michael V. Padua of Naga City in the Philippines, owner of the
Typhoon 2000 website, normally sends me cyclone tracks based upon
warnings issued by the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the
Philippines' Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA). A very special thanks to Michael for the
assistance he so reliably provides.
In the title line for each storm I have referenced all the cyclone
names/numbers I have available: JTWC's depression number, the
JMA-assigned name (if any), JMA's tropical storm numeric designator,
and PAGASA's name for systems forming in or passing through their
area of warning responsibility.
Northwest Pacific Tropical Activity for September
-------------------------------------------------
Waters of the Northwest Pacific basin were literally crawling with
tropical systems of various intensities during the month of September.
To keep a little order, I am going to arrange this introductory
paragraph a little differently from what I usually do.
(1) Supertyphoon Ioke: This very long-lived intense tropical cyclone
formed well to the south of Hawaii in late August, becoming the
first native Central North Pacific hurricane on record to reach
Category 5 intensity. The storm struck tiny Johnston Atoll before
reaching the superlative level on the Saffir/Simpson scale and
later entered the Northwest Pacific basin as a super typhoon.
Ioke passed very near Wake Island before gradually beginning to
weaken. The storm recurved east of Japan, and in its extratropical
stages produced high waves and a severe storm surge along the
western Alaskan coastline as well as heavy rainfall over the state.
The complete report on Super Hurricane/Typhoon Ioke may be found in
the August summary.
(2) Wake Island Possible Tropical Storm of 5-7 September: A system in
the vicinity of Wake Island in early September received Dvorak
classifications supporting tropical storm intensity for a few days,
and there were QuikScat winds to 50 kts; yet, no tropical cyclone
warnings were initiated by JTWC nor was the system even referenced
as a tropical depression by JMA. Karl Hoarau was of the opinion
that this system was indeed a short-lived tropical storm. Following
is a short report, which includes Karl's track, documenting this
system.
(3) Typhoon Shanshan/Luis: Shanshan was an intense typhoon which
recurved east of Taiwan, passing over some of the southernmost
islands in the Ryukyu group. In its later stages the cyclone
struck southwestern Japan with rather significant effects. A report
on Typhoon Shanshan written by Kevin Boyle follows.
(4) Tropical Depression 15W: This was a rather short-lived, weak
depression which formed in the South China Sea on 12 September and
moved northward and inland in western Guangdong Province around
1200 UTC on 13 September. JMA estimated the winds (10-min avg) in
this system at 30 kts, but JTWC reported 30 kts (1-min avg) for only
one warning cycle, at 13/0000 UTC. A track was included for this
system in the accompanying cyclone tracks file for September.
(5) Super Typhoon Yagi: Yagi was the year's fourth typhoon to reach
JTWC's super typhoon threshold of 130 kts, peaking at 140 kts as
it recurved well southeast of Japan. A report on Super Typhoon
Yagi, authored by Kevin Boyle, follows.
(6) Tropical Storm 17W: This system was another fairly short-lived
South China Sea system, forming in the central portion of the Sea on
22 September per the analysis of the China Meteorological
Administration (CMA), the Hong Kong Observatory, and JMA. JTWC
initiated warnings on Tropical Depression 17W at 23/0000 UTC. The
depression moved on a west-northwesterly track across the South
China Sea, making landfall in Vietnam on the 25th. The system
passed just south of Hainan and brought heavy rain to that island
with the maximum value recorded being 143 mm (according to the
Wikipedia report).
Satellite classifications from JTWC, SAB and AFWA all reached
T2.5 (35 kts), and JTWC upgraded TD-17W to a 35-kt tropical storm
24/0000 UTC. However, the system appeared to weaken under strong
vertical shear and JTWC downgraded it back to depression status
only six hours later. The CMA also upgraded the system to a
tropical storm and maintained it at that status until landfall in
Vietnam. According to the online Wikipedia report, this was the
13th time since the new naming procedures were put into place in
2000 that JTWC had recognized a tropical storm not named by JMA.
It was also the 3rd time that CMA had recognized a tropical storm
not named by JMA, the other cases being in 2000 and 2004. A track
for this system may be found in the companion cyclone tracks file.
(7) Weak JMA Tropical Depression: A tropical disturbance was located
on 24 September a few hundred miles east-northeast of Kwajalein.
JTWC mentioned this as an area with 'poor' development potential,
noting that deep convection was pulsing over a weak LLCC evident
in microwave imagery. JMA referenced this system as a weak tropical
depression in their High Seas Bulletin at 24/1800 UTC. However,
six hours later it was referenced only as a 'low pressure area'. It
was subsequently followed westward for another couple of days but
did not develop.
(8) Typhoon Xangsane/Milenyo: Xangsane was the first in a series of
deadly, destructive typhoons to plague the Philippines during the
fall months. Xangsane was notable for its extremely rapid
intensification prior to landfall, plus maintaining its strength
while crossing the archipelago. A report on Typhoon Xangsane by
Kevin Boyle follows.
(9) Beginnings of Tropical Storm Bebinca: A system in late September
west of the Marianas was classified as a weak tropical depression
by JMA. On 1 October JTWC initiated warnings on the system as
Tropical Depression 19W, and a couple of days later was upgraded
to Tropical Storm Bebinca. A report on Bebinca will be included
in the October summary.
(10) Remnants of Central North Pacific Depressions: Two short-lived
tropical depressions formed in late September in the western portion
of the Central North Pacific region. The first, TC-02C, weakened
well to the east of the Dateline, but its remnants held together
and moved westward into the eastern Marshall Islands. Tom Wright,
Chief Meteorologist, 3D Research/RTS Weather on Kwajalein, reports
that they received almost 3.5 inches (89 mm) of rain from around
25-27 September from the remnants of TD-02C, and Ailingalaplap (to
the south of Kwajalein) received about 4 inches (102 mm) on the
27th alone. However, winds at Kwajalein were only about 12 kts in
association with the former tropical depression's remnants. Radar
revealed a broad circulation with several small circulations, or
eddies, embedded within the larger circulation.
Tropical Depression 03C was downgraded by CPHC on 27 September just
east of the Dateline, but its remnants continued tracking westward
into the Northwest Pacific basin also. JMA picked up the former
TD-03C as a weak tropical depression at 13.0N/180.0E at 27/1200 UTC
and carried it as a weak depression in their High Seas Bulletins for
about 24 hours.
The online Wikipedia reports for the Northwestern Pacific cyclones may
be accessed at the following URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Pacific_typhoon_season
More expanded reports are available for Typhoons Shanshan and Xangsane.
The links to these are included in the respective reports below.
POSSIBLE TROPICAL STORM
(NRL Invest 92W)
5 - 7 September
-------------------------------------------
A tropical system in the vicinity of Wake Island in early September
may very well have been a tropical storm which remained unnamed and
unnumbered. JTWC and AFWA both assigned Dvorak ratings of T2.5/2.5,
plus there were some QuikScat data showing uncontaminated 50-kt wind
vectors within the northern side of the circulation. However, SAB
never assigned a CI number greater than 2.0, and neither JTWC nor JMA
classified the system as a tropical depression.
I asked Dr. Karl Hoarau of Cergy-Pontoise University near Paris to
perform a Dvorak analysis of this system and construct a track, which
is included below. (A special thanks to Karl for his efforts.)
According to Karl's track a 25-kt tropical depression had formed by
05/0600 UTC about 300 nm south-southwest of Wake Island, moving north-
northeastward and reaching tropical storm intensity around 06/0000 UTC
when centered approximately 250 nm south of the island. Dvorak ratings
from both AFWA and JTWC were T2.5/2.5 at 05/2330 UTC, and JTWC issued
a TCFA for the LOW at 06/0200 UTC. Convection had continued to develop
near a well-defined LLCC, and an upper-level analysis indicated that a
TUTT cell to the northwest and near-equatorial ridging to the southwest
were providing excellent poleward and equatorward outflow. Also, as
noted above, some recent QuikScat data had shown uncontaminated wind
vectors of 50 kts on the northern side of the circulation.
Based on Karl's analysis, the system was at tropical storm intensity
for 18 hours, peaking at 40 kts at 06/0600 UTC. The cyclone reached
the easternmost point of its trajectory at 06/1200 UTC when it was
located approximately 125 nm southeast of Wake Island. Afterwards, it
began to curve to the north-northwest and was located about 100 nm
north-northeast of Wake Island at 07/0600 UTC when Karl's track ends.
Per his analysis, the system had weakened to 25 kts by that time.
However, Dvorak ratings from JTWC and AFWA were still in general holding
around T2.5 and JTWC issued a second TCFA at 07/0200 UTC. Convection
was still flaring around a partially-exposed LLCC located within an
environment of moderate vertical shear. A third TCFA was issued at
08/0200 UTC, the system then being located about 345 nm north of Wake
Island and with increasing organization. However, at 09/0030 UTC the
TCFA was cancelled with the system then located approximately 450 nm
north-northwest of Wake Island. Satellite imagery revealed an
elongation and breakdown of the LLCC. The entrainment of drier air in
the mid levels on the western periphery, increased vertical wind shear,
and the system's movement into a region of cooler SSTs had resulted in
a transformation from a barotropic system into a more baroclinic one.
It is indeed a little puzzling why, with intensity estimates of 35 kts
for more than two days from two different agencies, no warnings were
ever issued for this system, even as a tropical depression. However,
SAB never estimated the system above T2.0/2.0, and this was at 10/0233
UTC--well after JTWC had cancelled the TCFA. SAB then weakened the
system to T1.5/2.0 at 10/0833 and 10/1433 UTC, declaring it extratropical
at 11/0233 UTC. Furthermore, JMA never mentioned this system as a
tropical depression in their High Seas Bulletins, and typically that
agency "starts" systems as tropical depressions before JTWC does.
Following are the track positions and intensities supplied by Karl
Hoarau:
Storm Name: None Cyclone Number: None Basin: NWP
(NRL Invest Number 92W)
Date Time Lat Lon Cent MSW MSW Remarks
(GMT) Press 1-min 10-min
(mb) (kts) (kts)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
07 SEP 05 0600 14.4 N 166.1 E 25
07 SEP 05 1200 15.4 N 166.6 E 30
07 SEP 05 1800 16.2 N 167.0 E 30
07 SEP 06 0000 16.6 N 167.4 E 35
07 SEP 06 0600 17.2 N 167.9 E 40
07 SEP 06 1200 18.0 N 168.2 E 35
07 SEP 06 1800 19.0 N 168.0 E 30
07 SEP 07 0000 19.9 N 167.7 E 30
07 SEP 07 0600 20.9 N 166.9 E 25
Note: Even though JTWC and AFWA were assigning Dvorak intensity
estimates implying the existence of a tropical depression or even
a tropical storm after 07/0600 UTC, I chose not to attempt to extend
the track beyond the time frame of Karl's analysis. My purpose is
primarily to simply document the existence of this system.
(Report written by Gary Padgett with track by Karl Hoarau)
TYPHOON SHANSHAN
(TC-14W / TY 0613 / LUIS)
9 - 22 September
---------------------------------------------
Shanshan: contributed by Hong Kong, China, is a fairly
common pet name for young girls
A. Storm Origins
----------------
Shanshan was initially mentioned as a suspect area in JTWC's STWO at
1000 UTC 8 September when an area of convection developed approximately
240 nm west of Guam. The disturbance was located under a weak vertical
wind shear environment, southwest of a TUTT cell, with weak eastward and
moderate equatorward outflow. After further development, a TCFA was
issued at 1230 UTC 9 September, followed by the first warning at 10/0000
UTC. Moving northwestwards, Tropical Depression 14W intensified and was
upgraded to a 40-kt tropical storm at 10/1200 UTC while located
approximately 660 nm southeast of Naha, Okinawa. The tropical cyclone
was named Shanshan at the same time when JMA raised their 10-min avg MSW
estimate to 35 kts.
B. Synoptic History
-------------------
Tropical Storm Shanshan continued to intensify as it drifted north-
westward at 6-8 kts along the periphery of a subtropical ridge and was
upgraded to a 70-kt typhoon at 1200 UTC 11 September, being approximately
530 nm southeast of Naha, Okinawa. The MSW reached 90 kts at 12/0000
UTC, and this intensity was maintained for 24 hours as the storm turned
westwards. Typhoon Shanshan weakened on 13 September as convergence
aloft suppressed the polar outflow. The tropical cyclone began to
strengthen again on 14 September, and shortly after turning northwards
towards a weakness in the ridge, reached a peak intensity of 120 kts at
15/1200 UTC.
Shanshan passed through the southern Ryukyu Islands late on 15
September while maintaining 120-kt winds and started to accelerate
northeastwards on 16 September as it began to interact with a mid-
latitude trough over eastern China. The system began to weaken and
undergo extratropical transition on 17 September as it raced north-
northeastwards towards the Japanese island of Kyushu. Shanshan skirted
the western coasts of Kyushu and Honshu and was downgraded to a tropical
storm at 17/1800 UTC, the time of JTWC's final warning. JMA lowered
their MSW to tropical storm levels at 18/0000 UTC but maintained
Shanshan as a tropical storm for two more days, not declaring the system
extratropical until 20/0000 UTC. Shanshan was located in the Sea of
Japan at 19/1800 UTC, but by 20/0000 UTC had raced northeastward across
northern Hokkaido into the North Pacific. Thereafter the extratropical
storm slowed its forward motion and moved slowly up the chain of the
Kuril Islands as it gradually weakened. The final reference to the
system in Japan's High Seas Bulletins placed a 25-kt LOW near the
southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 22/1200 UTC.
The highest MSW (10-min avg) and minimum CP estimated for Typhoon
Shanshan by JMA were 100 kts and 925 hPa, respectively. PAGASA referred
to this cyclone as Typhoon Luis, and the peak MSW estimated by that
agency during the time that Luis was located within PAGASA's AOR was
80 kts (10-min avg).
C. Meteorological Observations
------------------------------
The eye of Typhoon Shanshan passed very near Ishigakijima in the
southern Ryukyus around 2100 UTC on 15 September. At 2100 UTC the
weather station (24.3N/124.2E, Alt. 6 m) reported a SLP of 929 hPa
and an attendant 10-min avg wind of SSE 48 kts. The center of the
eye at the time was about 12 nm due west of the station, indicating
that the station was likely under the eastern eyewall. An hour earlier
the Ishigakijima station reported sustained winds of 88 kts. However,
these should be understood to be the winds at that particular hour and
not necessarily the strongest winds experienced by the station during
the typhoon's passage.
The online Wikipedia report on Shanshan indicates that a peak gust
of 130 kts was reported on Ishigakijima, while on Iriomote a peak gust
of 137 kts was recorded. On Ishigakijima rainfall rates of 50 mm per
hour were also reported.
Later the eye of Shanshan passed about 120 nm west of Okinawa with
Naha reporting SSW winds of 41 kts, gusting to 61 kts.
D. Damage and Casualties
------------------------
Typhoon Shanshan brought strong winds and heavy rains to Okinawa,
South Korea and Japan. Over 25,000 homes in Ishigaki, Okinawa, were
without electricity after high winds brought down utility poles. In
Japan, eleven people were reported dead and 260 injured. Typhoon
Shanshan caused damages up to US$4.9 million. One death was reported
from South Korea where the storm knocked out power to nearly 4000 homes.
A very detailed online report on Typhoon Shanshan/Luis may be found
at the following URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Shanshan_%282006%29
(Report written by Kevin Boyle with additions by Gary Padgett)
SUPER TYPHOON YAGI
(TC-16W / TY 0614)
13 - 27 September
--------------------------------------
Yagi: contributed by Japan, is the Japanese word for goat
A. Introduction and Storm Origins
---------------------------------
The fourth Northwest Pacific tropical cyclone of 2006 to achieve super
typhoon intensity, Yagi traced a slow clockwise loop for three days
before passing well north of the Marianas and recurving southeast of
Japan.
On 16 September an area of convection developed approximately 685 nm
east-northeast of Guam, and was first mentioned as a suspect area in
JTWC's STWO at 0000 UTC when animated multi-spectral satellite imagery
depicted flaring convection south and east of a weak LLCC. The
disturbance was located in a weak to moderate wind shear environment
under a developing upper-level anticyclone. After further development,
a TCFA was issued at 16/1730 UTC followed by the first warning on
Tropical Depression 16W at 17/0000 UTC. TD-16W was upgraded to a 35-kt
tropical storm at 17/0600 UTC. At the same time, JMA raised their 10-min
avg MSW to 35-kts and assigned the name Yagi. (Editor's Note: JMA first
identified the pre-Yagi system as a weak tropical depression in their
High Seas Bulletins as early as 13/1200 UTC when it was located near
11.0N/156.0E. That the system was diffuse and difficult to track is
attested to by several significant relocations over the next few days
before a definite center began to consolidate on the 16th.)
B. Synoptic History
-------------------
Initially located in a weak steering environment, Yagi slowly executed
a slow clockwise loop while intensifying and was upgraded to a 65-kt
typhoon at 1800 UTC 18 September while located approximately 845 nm east-
northeast of Saipan. After completing the loop, Yagi resumed a westward
track as it became increasingly influenced by a building subtropical
ridge southeast of Japan. Typhoon Yagi continued to intensify, reaching
super typhoon strength at 21/0600 UTC while turning towards the west-
northwest. Yagi peaked at 140 kts at 21/1200 UTC and maintained this
intensity for 18 hours on 21-22 September, passing well north of the
Mariana Islands.
At 22/0600 UTC Super Typhoon Yagi was centred approximately 70 nm
east of Iwo Jima, the island lying just within the radius of 50-kt winds.
Moving progressively poleward on 22 September, Yagi began to weaken due
to increasing wind shear associated with the mid-latitude westerlies.
The tropical cyclone completed recurvature on 23 September and underwent
extratropical transition on 24 September (per JTWC's analysis). JMA
downgraded Yagi to a severe tropical storm at 24/1200 UTC and maintained
it as a tropical system through 25/0000 UTC. The extratropical storm
continued moving east-northeastwards, crossing the Dateline early on the
27th. The final reference to ex-Yagi in JMA's bulletins placed a still-
potent 50-kt storm just south of the Aleutian Islands at 27/0600 UTC.
JMA estimated a maximum intensity of 110 kts (10-min avg) and a
minimum CP of 910 mb. This cyclone did not enter PAGASA's AOR.
C. Damage and Casualties
------------------------
There were no damages or casualties reported in association with Super
Typhoon Yagi.
(Report written by Kevin Boyle)
TYPHOON XANGSANE
(TC-16W / TY 0615 / MILENYO)
25 September - 2 October
------------------------------------------------
Xangsane: contributed by Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos), is
the Laotian word for elephant
A. Introduction and Storm Origins
---------------------------------
The first in a veritable parade of intense, destructive typhoons to
strike the Philippines during the fall, Typhoon Xangsane originated from
a fairly broad circulation within the monsoon trough east of the
Philippines. It intensified quickly to near super typhoon strength
before slamming into the Philippines on 27 September. Xangsane remained
a powerful typhoon throughout its westward journey across the Philippines
and across the South China Sea, finally making landfall on the Vietnamese
coast on 30 September.
The initial reference to the pre-Xangsane disturbance was in JTWC's
STWO at 0600 UTC 23 September when an area of convection persisted
approximately 90 nm north-northwest of Palau. Upper-air analysis
revealed a low to moderate wind shear environment and favourable
divergence aloft. After the issuance of a TCFA early on 25 September,
the first warning on Tropical Depression 18W was released at 25/1200
UTC. TD-18W was quickly upgraded to a 35-kt tropical storm at 25/1800
UTC, located approximately 460 nm east-southeast of Manila, Philippines.
The tropical cyclone was christened Xangsane at 26/0000 UTC when JMA
raised their 10-min avg MSW to 35 kts. (PAGASA had began issuing
statements on the system, dubbed Tropical Depression Milenyo, at
25/0000 UTC.)
B. Track History
----------------
Tropical Storm Xangsane intensified on 26 September and was upgraded
to a typhoon at 1800 UTC while located approximately 340 nm east-
southeast of Manila. From 26/1800 UTC to 27/0600 UTC Typhoon
Xangsane/Milenyo underwent an explosive deepening phase before reaching
its maximum intensity of 125 kts at 27/1200 UTC, making landfall over
Samar, Philippines, around that time. After striking Samar, Milenyo's
west-northwestward track kept the tropical cyclone over land for much
of its tenure over the Philippine Archipelago. As a result, the
cyclone gradually lost strength, passing over the Metro-Manila area
of southern Luzon early on 28 September. Xangsane/Milenyo remained a
major typhoon while traversing the Philippines and emerged into the
South China Sea at around 28/1200 UTC.
Changing onto a westerly course under the steering influence of a
mid-level ridge, Typhoon Xangsane began to strengthen once again,
attaining a secondary peak intensity of 115 kts at 29/0600 UTC while
located roughly a third of the way across the South China Sea. After
maintaining a MSW of 115 kts for over 24 hours, the tropical cyclone
began to slowly weaken as it approached Vietnam. Continuing westwards,
the system came ashore near Hue, Vietnam, early 1 October with a MSW of
80 kts. JTWC issued their final warning at 01/0600 UTC. From there,
JMA tracked Xangsane westward across much of southeastern Asia,
downgrading it to a tropical storm at 01/1200 UTC and to a tropical
depression at 02/0000 UTC.
The maximum intensity of Typhoon Milenyo as estimated by PAGASA was
75 kts (10-min avg). JMA estimated a peak intensity of 90 kts (10-min
avg) and a minimum CP of 940 mb.
C. Damage and Casualties
------------------------
Typhoon Milenyo/Xangsane caused widespread damage in the Philippines,
and was the worst storm to affect Manila since Typhoon Angela/Rosing in
1995. A total of 197 lives were lost in the Philippines with damages
to property and agriculture totaling 5.9 billion Filipino pesos.
Typhoon Xangsane also badly impacted Vietnam. The storm caused
nearly 10 trillion Vietnamese dong worth of damage and 71 people lost
their lives. As the storm moved into neighbouring Thailand, torrential
rains caused severe flooding. There were no reports of casualties.
Much more information on the impact of Typhoon Xangsane in both the
Philippines and Vietnam may be found in the online Wikipedia report at
the following URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Xangsane
D. Additional Information
-------------------------
Following is part of an e-mail posted by Michael V. Padua of Naga
City, Philippines, to a tropical cyclone discussion group (slightly
edited):
"The reincarnation of Xangsane was memorable...the storm struck major
cities from southern Luzon up to the Metro Manila. Lucky I am that the
eye just passed 30 km to the south of Naga City...and the damage was
minimal...not a single scratch was seen on my Davis Vantage Pro (weather
station).
"Here's an interesting story...my uncle was attending a seminar in
Legazpi when Xangsane arrived. He was driving back to Naga when the
typhoon arrived. Upon its passage he stopped at a nearby gasoline
station around 7:30 pm to take shelter as very strong winds began
to rampage near the city of Legazpi or over the town of Daraga.
While over the Shell Gas station, a sudden lull occurred from 7:45 pm
up to 8:15 pm... a quietness of 30-mins!!! While inside the eye he
saw flickering lightning flashes on all sides of the horizon. Then the
wind returned with full-force, even stronger than the first. He told
me that the eyewall left the place around 10:30 pm (during that time
my weather station began recording high wind speeds). Overall, the
damage down south of Naga is worst, especially the cities of Iriga and
Legazpi.
"Before the eye passed over Legazpi, my uncle heard over the radio
that 30-foot waves with 20 feet of storm surge began hurling towards the
port of Legazpi, reaching into the low-lying areas of the main city
proper. Cars and other vehicles were submerged during the surge.
Wow! Horrendous indeed!"
Some observations recorded by Michael on his weather station follow:
(1) Lowest barometric pressure - 986.4 hPa at 27/1530 UTC
(2) Highest wind speed - East 57.3 kts at 27/1516 UTC
(3) 24-hour rainfall - 83.1 mm from 26/1600 UTC to 27/1600 UTC
78.7 mm from 27/1600 UTC to 28/1600 UTC
(4) 48-hour rainfall - 161.8 mm from 27/1600 UTC to 29/1200 UTC
(5) Storm total rainfall - 189.2 mm from 25/1600 UTC to 28/1600 UTC
(6) Maximum rain rate - 137.1 mm/hr from 27/1721 UTC to 27/1722 UTC
(Note that this is the maximum hourly rain rate based on the peak
1-min rainfall measured. No, 5.4 inches did not fall in one
minute!)
(Report written by Kevin Boyle with an addition by Michael Padua)
*************************************************************************
NORTH INDIAN OCEAN (NIO) - Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea
Activity for September: 1 depression **
1 tropical cyclone of gale intensity ++
1 severe cyclonic storm
** - no warnings issued on this system by JTWC
++ - system was treated only as a depression by IMD
NOTE!!! The North Indian Ocean basin was covered in the second
installment of the September summary.
*************************************************************************
SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN (SWI) - South Indian Ocean West of Longitude 90E
Activity for September: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA/SOUTHEAST INDIAN OCEAN (AUW) - From 90E to 135E
Activity for September: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
NORTHEAST AUSTRALIA/CORAL SEA (AUE) - From 135E to 160E
Activity for September: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
SOUTH PACIFIC (SPA) - South Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 160E
Activity for September: No tropical cyclones
*************************************************************************
SPECIAL FEATURE - SOURCES OF TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION
The purpose of this section is to list some websites where many and
varied types of tropical cyclone information are archived. Many readers
will know about these already, but for the benefit of those who don't,
I wanted to include them.
(1) Aircraft Reconnaissance Information
---------------------------------------
Various types of messages from reconnaissance aircraft may be
retrieved from the following FTP site:
ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/products/nhc/recon/
Information regarding how to interpret the coded reconnaissance
messages may be found at the following URL:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/reconlist.shtml
Links are also included to websites with further information about the
U. S. Air Force 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the NOAA Air-
craft Operations Center.
(2) Archived Advisories
-----------------------
All the advisory products (public advisories, forecast/advisories,
strike probabilities, discussions, various graphics) issued by TPC/NHC
are archived on TPC's website. For the current year (using 2004 as an
example), the archived products can be found at:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2004/index.shtml
Links to tropical products archives for earlier years are available at
the following URL:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastall.shtml
JTWC warnings for past storms are archived on the NRL Monterrey website:
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html
On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left
corner of the screen.
I am not aware at the moment of any other TCWC which archives all
its tropical cyclone warning/advisory products for public access, but
if I learn of any, I will add them to this list.
(3) Satellite Imagery
---------------------
Satellite images of tropical cyclones in various sensor bands are
available on the NRL Monterrey and University of Wisconsin websites,
courtesy of Jeff Hawkins and Chris Velden and their associates. The
links are:
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/tropic.html
On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left
corner of the screen. For the CIMSS site, a link to data archives is
located in the lower left portion of the screen.
Additional tropical satellite imagery, along with looping ability for
composite microwave imagery for the Western Hemisphere north of the
equator, can be found at:
(1) For the Eastern North Pacific:
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-epac.html
(2) For the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea:
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-atl.html
I'm sure there are other sites with available imagery available, and
as I learn of them, I will add the links to this list.
*************************************************************************
EXTRA FEATURE
In order to shorten the amount of typing in preparing the narrative
material, I have been in the habit of freely using abbreviations and
acronyms. I have tried to define most of these with the first usage
in a given summary, but I may have missed one now and then. Most of
these are probably understood by a majority of readers but perhaps a
few aren't clear to some. To remedy this I developed a Glossary of
Abbreviations and Acronyms which I first included in the August, 1998
summary. I don't normally include the Glossary in most months in
order to help keep them from being too long. If anyone would like to
receive a copy of the Glossary, please e-mail me and I'll be happy
to send them a copy.
*************************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This summary should be considered a very preliminary
overview of the tropical cyclones that occur in each month. The cyclone
tracks (provided separately) will generally be based upon operational
warnings issued by the various tropical cyclone warning centers. The
information contained therein may differ somewhat from the tracking and
intensity information obtained from a "best-track" file which is based
on a detailed post-seasonal analysis of all available data. Information
on where to find official "best-track" files from the various warning
centers will be passed along from time to time.
The track files are not being sent via e-mail. They can be retrieved
from the archive sites listed below. (Note: I do have a limited e-mail
distribution list for the track files. If anyone wishes to receive
these via e-mail, please send me a message.)
Both the summaries and the track files are standard text files
created in DOS editor. Download to disk and use a viewer such as
Notepad or DOS editor to view the files.
The first summary in this series covered the month of October,
1997. Back issues can be obtained from the following websites
(courtesy of Michael Bath, Michael V. Padua, Michael Pitt, Chris
Landsea, and John Diebolt):
http://australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/
http://www.typhoon2000.ph <http://www.typhoon2000.ph/>
http://mpittweather.com <http://mpittweather.com/>
ftp://ftp.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/pub/landsea/padgett/
http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/
Another website where much information about tropical cyclones may
be found is the website for the UK Meteorological Office. Their site
contains a lot of statistical information about tropical cyclones
globally on a monthly basis. The URL is:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/tropicalcyclone
TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORTS AVAILABLE
JTWC now has available on its website the Annual Tropical Cyclone
Report (ATCR) for 2004 (2003-2004 season for the Southern Hemisphere).
ATCRs for earlier years are available also.
The URL is: http://199.10.200.33/jtwc.html
Also, TPC/NHC has available on its webpage nice "technicolor"
tracking charts for the 2006 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific
tropical cyclones; also, storm reports for all the 2006 Atlantic
and Eastern North Pacific cyclones are now available, as well as
track charts and reports on storms from earlier years.
The URL is: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/>
A special thanks to Michael Bath of McLeans Ridges, New South Wales,
Australia, for assisting me with proofreading the summaries.
PREPARED BY
Gary Padgett
E-mail: garyp@alaweb.com
Phone: 334-222-5327
Kevin Boyle (Northwest Pacific)
E-mail: newchapelobservatory@btinternet.com
Simon Clarke (Northeast Australia/Coral Sea, South Pacific)
E-mail: scla4255@bigpond.net.au
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
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