Typhoon

"Typhoon" redirects here. For other uses, see Typhoon (disambiguation).

A Pacific typhoon or tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that forms in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The basin is demarcated within the Pacific Ocean from Asia, north of the equator, and west of the international date line. Storms from the Eastern and Central Pacific crossing the date line are re-designated as typhoons. This basin features the strongest cyclones on record.

Typhoon seasons include the entirety of the calendar year. Most storms tend to form between May and November.

The word "typhoon" comes from the Chinese 颱風/台风 (pinyin: tái fēng; Jyutping: toi⁴fung¹).

Climatology

Nearly one-third of the world's tropical cyclones form within the Western Pacific. This makes this basin the most active. Pacific typhoons have formed year round, with peak months from August to October. The peak months correspond to that of the Atlantic hurricane seasons. Along with a high storm frequency, this basin also features the most globally intense storms on record.

Storm Frequency
Tropical storms and Typhoons by month,
for the period 1959-2005 (Northwest Pacific)

Month	Count	Average
Jan	28	0.6
Feb	15	0.3
Mar	26	0.6
Apr	39	0.8
May	64	1.4
Jun	96	2.0
Jul	215	4.6
Aug	312	6.6
Sep	262	5.6
Oct	219	4.7
Nov	134	2.9
Dec	75	1.6
Annual	1484	31.6
Source: JTWC

Record Intensity
Storms reaching an intensity of 878 mbar (25.9 inHg) or below

Rank	Name	Pressure	Location	Years
1	Typhoon Tip	870 mbar	Western Pacific	1979
2	Typhoon Gary	872 mbar	Western Pacific	1992‡
2	Typhoon Ivan	872 mbar	Western Pacific	1997‡
2	Typhoon Joan	872 mbar	Western Pacific	1997‡
2	Typhoon Keith	872 mbar	Western Pacific	1997‡
2	Typhoon Zeb	872 mbar	Western Pacific	1998‡
7	Typhoon June	875 mbar	Western Pacific	1975
8	Typhoon Ida	877 mbar	Western Pacific	1958
8	Typhoon Nora	877 mbar	Western Pacific	1973
10	Typhoon Rita	878 mbar	Western Pacific	1978
10	Typhoon Yvette	878 mbar	Western Pacific	1992‡
10	Typhoon Damrey	878 mbar	Western Pacific	2000‡
‡ Minimum central pressure of these storms was estimated based on satellite data rather than directly measured.

Paths

Tracks of all tropical cyclones in the northernwestern Pacific Ocean between 1980 and 2005. The vertical line to the right is the International Date Line.

Typhoon paths follow three general directions.

• Straight. A general westward path affects the Philippines, southern China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
• Recurving. Storms recurving affect eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.
• Northward. From point of origin, the storm follows a northerly direction, only affecting small islands.

Basin monitoring

The following agencies monitor typhoons:

• Joint Typhoon Warning Center
• Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)
• RSMC Tokyo-Typhoon Center, part of the Japan Meteorological Agency

Name sources

The list of names consist of entries from 17 East Asian nations and the United States who have territories directly affected by typhoons. The submitted names are arranged into five lists; and each list is cycled with each year. Unlike hurricanes, typhoons are not named after people. Instead, they generally refer to animals, flowers, astrological signs, and a few personal names. However, PAGASA retains its own naming list, which does consist of human names. Therefore, a typhoon can possibly have two names. Storms that cross the date line from the Central Pacific retain their original name, but the designation of hurricane becomes typhoon.

See also

• Tropical cyclone
• 2008 Pacific typhoon season

External links

• Unisys Data