Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | October 6, 2023 |
Extratropical | October 14, 2023 |
Violent typhoon | |
10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
Highest winds | 215 km/h (130 mph) |
Lowest pressure | 905 hPa (mbar);26.72 inHg |
Category 5-equivalent super typhoon | |
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
Highest winds | 305 km/h (190 mph) |
Lowest pressure | 897 hPa (mbar);26.49 inHg |
Overall effects | |
Casualties | None |
Damage | Minimal |
Areas affected | |
Part of the 2023 Pacific typhoon season |
Typhoon Bolaven was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone that struck the Northern Mariana Islands in mid-October 2023. The fifteenth named storm of the 2023 Pacific typhoon season,Bolaven originated on October 6 near the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and moved to the northwest.
Bolaven impacted Micronesia and the Northern Mariana Islands,bringing scattered floods and downing trees as it passed through. After being absorbed by another weather system,its remnant energy brought wind and rain to areas in Alaska and British Columbia. No damage or casualties were reported.
On October 6, an area of convection, or thunderstorms, was associated with a circulation near the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Located in an area of warm sea surface temperatures of around 86 °F (30 °C), the weather system experienced favorable conditions for tropical cyclone development, with low wind shear, spiraling rainbands, and outflow in two directions. At 06:00 UTC, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) designated the system a tropical depression, and shortly thereafter, the American-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a tropical cyclone formation alert. [1] [2] With weak steering currents from a subtropical ridge to the northwest, the nascent tropical depression drifted as it slowly organized. Early on October 7, the JTWC designated the system as Tropical Depression 15W. [3] [4] Later that day, the JMA upgraded the system to Tropical Storm Bolaven. [5]
At first, the circulation of Bolaven was elongated and ill-defined, with a general movement to the northwest. [6] Despite the presence of dry air near the center, the storm slowly intensified as the convection deepened, and the outflow was amplified by a tropical upper tropospheric trough to its northeast. [7] [8] Hot towers developed into tightly wound rainbands, a sign of a maturing tropical storm. [9] Late on October 8, the JMA upgraded Bolaven to a severe tropical storm. [10] Some wind shear prevented quicker intensification, although there were signs of a developing eyewall as early as October 9. [11] On October 10, the JMA and the JTWC both upgraded Bolaven to typhoon status while the storm was approaching the Marianas Islands. [12] [13] That day, the typhoon passed just south of Saipan in the Northern Marianas Islands (NMI). [14] As it moved away from the NMI, Bolaven underwent rapid intensification, developing a well-defined eye in the center of the convection. The JTWC described the environmental conditions as "near ideal", citing the low wind shear, high water temperature, and well-established outflow. [15]
Early on October 11, the JTWC upgraded Bolaven to a super typhoon, estimating sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph). By that time, the storm had a well-defined 28 km (17 mi) wide eye exhibiting the stadium effect. [16] The JTWC estimated that Bolaven peaked with 1-minute sustained winds of 285 km/h (180 mph). [17] Thereafter, Bolaven began to weaken from increased wind shear. [18] Unfavorable conditions began to rapidly weaken Bolaven into below super typhoon strength on October 13, as it recurved northeastward. [19] Bolaven began its extratropical transition on October 14, ceasing the issuance of bulletins from the JTWC. [20] The remnants of the storm went on to effect Alaska and British Columbia. [21]
From October 7 to October 14, reports of flooding was reported on Chuuk in Micronesia, with the island being battered with winds of 106 km/h. [22] On October 10, Bolaven moved through the Northern Marianas Islands, [14] [23] while the archipelago was still recovering from the damaging passage of Typhoon Mawar five months earlier. [24] Saipan International Airport recorded sustained winds of 89 km/h (55 mph), along with typhoon-force gusts of 126 km/h (78 mph). [14] The high winds knocked down trees and cut electricity for the islands of Tinian and Rota, while parts of Saipan also lost power. [25]
Guam, located south of Saipan, reported wind gusts of 80 km/h (49 mph) at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport. [14] Over 7 in (180 mm) of rain were reported shortly after the storm passed through, and all citizens were asked to stay off roads due to dangerous conditions caused by the typhoon. [26]
In Alaska, Ketchikan was put under a high wind warning as the remnants of the storm approached. Rainfall in Ketchikan was 6.69 in (170 mm) on October 17, a daily record. [27] After merging with another extratropical storm in the Gulf of Alaska, the remnants brought rain to parts of southern British Columbia, where Effingham Point, along the Sunshine Coast, recorded 276.4 mm (10.88 in). [28]
Following the system's passage and impact to the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Coast Guard vessel Myrtle Hazard arrived with thousands of packages of pet food, and they assessed the other needs of people on the islands. [29]
The 2007 Pacific typhoon season was a near average season which featured 24 named storms, fourteen typhoons, and five super typhoons. It was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation, in which tropical cyclones form in the western Pacific Ocean. The season ran throughout 2007, though most tropical cyclones typically develop between May and November. The season's first named storm, Kong-rey, developed on March 30, while the season's last named storm, Mitag, dissipated on November 27. The season's first typhoon, Yutu, reached typhoon status on May 18, and became the first super typhoon of the year on the next day.
The 2008 Pacific typhoon season was a below average season which featured 22 named storms, eleven typhoons, and two super typhoons. The season had no official bounds; it ran year-round in 2008, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
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The 2015 Pacific typhoon season was a slightly above average season that produced twenty-seven tropical storms, eighteen typhoons, and nine super typhoons. The season ran throughout 2015, though most tropical cyclones typically develop between May and November. The season's first named storm, Mekkhala, developed on January 15, while the season's last named storm, Melor, dissipated on December 17. The season saw at least one named tropical system forming in each of every month, the first time since 1965. Similar to the previous season, this season saw a high number of super typhoons. Accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) during 2015 was extremely high, the third highest since 1970, and the 2015 ACE has been attributed in part to anthropogenic warming, and also the 2014-16 El Niño event, that led to similarly high ACE values in the East Pacific.
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The 2017 Pacific typhoon season was a below-average season in terms of accumulated cyclone energy and the number of typhoons and super typhoons, and the first since the 1977 season to not produce a Category 5-equivalent typhoon on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The season produced a total of 27 named storms, 11 typhoons, and only two super typhoons, making it an average season in terms of storm numbers. It was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation, in which tropical cyclones form in the western Pacific Ocean. The season runs throughout 2017, though most tropical cyclones typically develop between May and October. The season's first named storm, Muifa, developed on April 25, while the season's last named storm, Tembin, dissipated on December 26. This season also featured the latest occurrence of the first typhoon of the year since 1998, with Noru reaching this intensity on July 23.
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The 2019 Pacific typhoon season was the costliest Pacific typhoon season on record, just ahead of the previous year and 2023. The season featured fairly above-average tropical cyclone activity for the second consecutive year, producing 29 named storms, 17 typhoons, and five super typhoons, also, it was the final season of the Western Pacific's consecutive active hurricane seasons that started in 2013. The season's first named storm, Pabuk, reached tropical storm status on January 1, becoming the earliest-forming tropical storm of the western Pacific Ocean on record, breaking the previous record that was held by Typhoon Alice in 1979. The season's first typhoon, Wutip, reached typhoon status on February 20. Wutip further intensified into a super typhoon on February 23, becoming the strongest February typhoon on record, and the strongest tropical cyclone recorded in February in the Northern Hemisphere. The season's last named storm, Phanfone, dissipated on December 29 after it made landfall in the Philippines.
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The 2023 Pacific typhoon season was the fourth consecutive below-average season and became the third-most inactive typhoon season on record in terms of named storms, with just 17 named storms developing, only ahead of 2010 and 1998. Despite the season occurring during an El Niño event, which typically favors activity in the basin, activity was abnormally low. This was primarily due to a consistent period of negative PDO, which typically discourages tropical storm formation in this basin. The season was less active than the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season in terms of named storms, the fourth such season on record, after 2005, 2010 and 2020. The season's number of storms also did not exceed that of the 2023 Pacific hurricane season. Only ten became typhoons, with four strengthening further into super typhoons. However, it was very destructive, primarily due to Typhoon Doksuri which devastated the northern Philippines, Taiwan, and China in July, becoming the costliest typhoon on record as well as the costliest typhoon to hit mainland China, and Typhoon Haikui in September, which devastated China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The season was less active in Southeast Asia, with no tropical storm making landfall in mainland Vietnam.
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