TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY

1st Half 2008 Summary

Tropical cyclone activity in the western North Pacific basin was above normal during the first half of 2008. Most of this activity, however, occurred to the west of Micronesia, with the Philippines being particularly hard-hit. The JTWC numbered 7 tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific basin during the first half of 2008, 3 more tropical cyclones than average. Of these 7 cyclones, 5 were typhoons and 2 were tropical storms. One of the typhoons (Rammasun: TC03W) was a super typhoon. The JMA named 6 of the 7 cyclones that JTWC numbered. The westward shift of the tropical cyclone activity is typical during La Niña. No area of Micronesia was severely impacted by a tropical cyclone during the first half of 2008.

The Central North Pacific hurricane season is off to a slow start, with no tropical cyclone activity occurring in the month of June. Hurricane Boris formed in the Eastern Pacific on July 1 but weakened to a tropical depression by July 4. Tropical Storm Elida developed in the East Pacific in July 12 and intensified to hurricane strength by July 14, becoming the second hurricane of the Eastern Pacific season. Upon reaching cooler waters of the Central Pacific, Hurricane Elida weakened briefly to a tropical storm on July 18 before dissipating into a disturbance well to the southeast of the Hawaiian Islands.

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The PEAC Center 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 Japan Meteorology Agency (JMA), which is the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for the western North Pacific basin. The PEAC Center 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.