TROPICAL CYCLONE activity

(3rd Quarter SUMMARY)

The PEAC archives western North Pacific tropical cyclone numbers, track coordinates, and 1-minute average maximum sustained wind taken from operational warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Western North Pacific tropical cyclone names are obtained from warnings issued by the Japanese Meteorology Agency (JMA), which is the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for the western North Pacific basin. The PEAC archives South Pacific tropical cyclone names, track coordinates, central pressure, and 10-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates from advisories issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers at Brisbane, Nadi, and Wellington. The numbering scheme and the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind estimates are taken from warnings issued by the JTWC. There are sometimes differences in the statistics (e.g., storm maximum intensity) for a given tropical cyclone among the agencies that are noted in this summary.

For purposes of seasonal statistics, the JTWC archives Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone activity for the upcoming 2007 cyclone season within the period July 2006 through June 2007. During mid October, the first TC of the 2007 cyclone season formed in the south Pacific. Hurricane Xavier moved southward between Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Xavier was a small hurricane that briefly reached a very high intensity of 115 kts. It remained over water and PEAC did not receive any reports of damage to any islands.

In the western North Pacific, the season’s tropical cyclones have become typhoons well to the north of Micronesia. One of the most notable cyclones in the north Pacific basin was Hurricane/Typhoon Ioke. This very large, very intense, and long lasting typhoon formed to the south of Hawaii and moved on a long track toward Japan. On the way it passed directly over Wake Island, forcing a complete evacuation of the island. Damage from the storm was extensive. Several of the areas of disturbed weather in the central Pacific traveled westward and affected the RMI.

In early October, the tropical disturbance that became Typhoon Soulik (TC 21W) tracked close to Majuro and to Kwajalein. Gusty southerly winds associated with this tropical system produced high seas that topped the seawall on the southern boundary of the Majuro Airport. Saltwater entered a retention facility for fresh water that is used to collect rainwater from the runway, and 8 million gallons of fresh water was contaminated and had to be disposed of. Normally this fresh water would have been transferred to the reservoir facility (also at the airport). Recently, the very powerful Super Typhoon Cimaron (TC22W) developed close to Guam, then moved westward. It became a super typhoon east of Luzon where it made landfall on October 29th. Then, approximately two weeks later another typhoon (Typhoon Chebi, TC23W) did almost the same thing: it formed near Guam, then moved west and intensified rapidly before making landfall in central Luzon on the 10th of November.