The 1996 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1996, 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 1996 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.
The 1996 season was very active. Forty-three tropical cyclones formed this year, of which 34 became tropical storms. Fifteen storms reached typhoon intensity, of which six reached super typhoon strength.
On February 23, a large area of convection developed south of the Philippines Sea. The convection developed into a low pressure area and was at first bombarded by wind shear, but conditions soon turned favorable which allowed it to strengthen rapidly on February 27 before becoming a Tropical depression later that day. The JMA upgraded 01W into a Tropical Storm before it drifted over the Philippines on February 29, and weakened slightly due to land interaction.[2][3]On March 1, a cold front brought cold, dry air and vertical wind shear which pushed the system south caused the system's low level circulation center to become exposed. The exposed remnants of 01W continued to drift south, before being completely absorbed by the Intertropical Convergence Zone.[citation needed]
A Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough spawned Tropical Depression 7W on July 10 over the open Western Pacific. It tracked generally west-northwestward, strengthening to a tropical storm on the 14th. On the 15th Eve became a typhoon, which was followed by a period of explosive deepening to a 100 mph Typhoon, with a pressure drop of 40 mb from early on the 15th to early on the 16th. An eyewall replacement cycle weakened Eve to a 95 mph typhoon, but as the outer eyewall contracted, the storm again reached wind speeds of 97 mph before hitting southern Japan on the 18th. Rapidly weakening over the mountains, Eve turned eastward over the islands and the last warning was issued on the 20th. It restrengthened to a tropical storm east of Japan, and continued northeastward until dissipation on the 27th. Eve, despite being a Category 4 at landfall, caused no reported deaths and only 9 injuries.[4]
An active monsoon trough over the Western Pacific Ocean developed 3 typhoons; Frankie, Gloria, and Herb. The first, Frankie, developed in the South China Sea on July 19. It tracked west-northwestward and became a tropical storm on the 21st. After crossing the island of Hainan Frankie rapidly intensified to a 100 mph typhoon, 945 millibar over the Gulf of Tonkin. It northern Vietnam on the 23rd, and dissipated 2 days later over China. 104 people were reported killed or missing in association with Frankie, and damage figures are estimated at over $200 million (1996 US Dollars).[4]
The same monsoon trough that spawned Frankie also spawned a tropical depression on July 19 east of the Philippines. It headed northwestward, slowly organizing into a tropical storm on the 22nd. The next day Gloria reached typhoon strength, and a day later it reached its peak of 100 mph winds. Gloria brushed the northern coast of the Philippines and turned northward to hit Taiwan on the 26th. After crossing the island and the Taiwan Straight, Gloria hit China where she dissipated on the 27th. Gloria caused 23 casualties, 20 of which were in the northern Philippines. In addition, damage was estimated at $20 million (1996 USD).[4]
Super Typhoon Herb was the strongest and the largest storm of 1996. Herb struck Ryūkyū Islands, Taiwan and People's Republic of China. Maximum sustained winds of the cyclone reached 160 miles per hour (260 km/h) over the open ocean. The system led to 590 casualties and US$5 billion in damage (1996 dollars).[4]
A monsoon depression developed on July 28 over the open Pacific Ocean. It headed northwestward, slowly consolidating to become a tropical storm on the 5th. While south of Japan, Kirk drifted to the southeast and looped back to the west, strengthening to a typhoon on the 8th while looping. It continued slowly northwestward, and while curving to the northeast Kirk reached a peak of 110 mph winds. The typhoon struck southwestern Japan at that intensity on the 14th. It weakened over the country, and dissipated on the 16th over the northern Pacific. Kirk caused heavy flooding, resulting in at least 2 deaths and moderate damage.[4]
The monsoon trough spawned a tropical depression over southern China on August 11. It drifted southwestward, entering the Gulf of Tonkin on the 12th. An extremely small cyclone, it reached tropical storm strength on the 13th and a peak of 60 mph on the 14th. Marty made landfall on the 14th on northern Vietnam, where it dissipated 3 days later. Though small and somewhat weak, Marty managed to cause moderate damage and flooding, amounting to the deaths of 125 with 107 people missing.[4]
On September 2, a tropical depression developed well east of the Philippines. It headed west-northwestward, reaching tropical storm strength on the 5th and typhoon strength on the 6th. On the 7th Sally rapidly intensified to a 160 mph Super Typhoon while passing just north of the Philippines. It weakened slightly yet steadily to a 115 mph typhoon over the South China Sea, hitting the Luichow Peninsula of China on the 9th, and dissipated the next day over the country. Sally brought heavy rain and damage to China, causing 114 casualties, 110 people missing, and economic losses estimated at $1.5 billion (1996 USD).[4]
An active monsoon trough that also developed Typhoons Tom (25W) and Violet (26W) spawned a tropical depression in the Gulf of Tonkin on September 16. It moved counter-clockwise around Hainan Island, becoming a tropical storm on the 17th and a typhoon on the 19th. It crossed the narrow Hainan Strait between Hainan and China, and continued west-southwestward across the Gulf of Tonkin. Willie made landfall on Vietnam on the 22nd, and dissipated the next day. The typhoon resulted in 38 fatalities from flooding.[4]
A cluster of thunderstorm activity formed southeast of Guam on November 2. The system slowly organized, becoming a tropical depression on November 4. Remaining nearly stationary, the depression intensified into a tropical storm late in the day. The cyclone then turned westward, becoming a typhoon by November 7. Late in the day, Dale passed south of Guam bringing winds as high as 74 knots (137 km/h) and high seas which overtopped cliffs 30 metres (98 ft) high. Damage on the island totaled US$3.5 million (1996 dollars.) Continuing to intensify, Dale became a supertyphoon in the Philippine Sea on November 9. On November 10, Dale turned north, recurving east of the Philippines. On November 14, Dale accelerated east-northeast at more than 60 knots (110 km/h) as it became an extratropical cyclone.[4]
Two active monsoon troughs that also developed Typhoon Fern and Southern Hemisphere Cyclones Ophelia, Phil, and Fergus spawned Tropical Depression 43W in the South China Sea on December 21. Due to the troughs' nature, the depression headed east-southeastward, where it strengthened into the final tropical storm of the year on the 24th; Greg. After reaching a peak of 45 knots (83 km/h) winds it crossed the northern part of Borneo on the 25th. It continued east-southeastward until dissipation on the 27th, south of the Philippines. Greg caused extensive property damage on Borneo from torrential flooding, resulting in 127 deaths and 100 people missing.[4]
During the season 30 named tropical cyclones developed in the Western Pacific and were named by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, when it was determined that they had become tropical storms. These names were contributed to a revised list which started on 1996.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration uses its own naming scheme for tropical cyclones in their area of responsibility. PAGASA assigns names to tropical depressions that form within their area of responsibility and any tropical cyclone that might move into their area of responsibility. Should the list of names for a given year prove to be insufficient, names are taken from an auxiliary list, the first 10 of which are published each year before the season starts. Names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2000 season. This is the same list used for the 1992 season. PAGASA uses its own naming scheme that starts in the Filipino alphabet, with names of Filipino female names ending with "ng" (A, B, K, D, etc). Names that were not assigned/going to use are marked in gray.