Tag Archives: Typhoon Usagi

Man-yi Strengthens to a Typhoon East of the Philippines

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Former Tropical Storm Man-yi strengthened to a typhoon east of the Philippines on Thursday.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Thursday the center of Typhoon Man-yi was located at latitude 10.7°N and longitude 131.3°E which put the center about 795 miles (1280 km) east-southeast of Manila, Philippines.  Man-yi was moving toward the west at 18 m.p.h. (30 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 80 m.p.h. (130 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 100 m.p.h. (160 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 976 mb.

Former Tropical Storm Man-yi strengthened to a typhoon over the Western North Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines on Thursday.  The inner end of a rainband wrapped around the center of Man-yi’s circulation.  A circular eye with a diameter of 23 miles (37 km) formed at the center of Typhoon Man-yi.  The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms.  Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of Man-yi’s circulation.  Storms near the center of Man-yi generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the typhoon.  The removal of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease.

Typhoon Man-yi will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Man-yi will move over water where where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°C.   It will move under the middle of an upper level ridge over the Western North Pacific Ocean.  The upper level winds are weak near the middle of the ridge and there will be little vertical wind shear.  Typhoon Man-yi will intensify during the next 24 hours.  Man-yi could intensify rapidly.  Typhoon Man-yi is likely to strengthen to the equivalent of a major hurricane.

Typhoon Man-yi will move around the southern side of a high pressure system over the Western North Pacific Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Man-yi toward the west-northwest during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Typhoon Man-yi will move toward Luzon.  Man-yi could approach Luzon in 36 hours.

Elsewhere over the Western North Pacific Ocean, Typhoon Usagi moved toward Taiwan.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Thursday the center of Typhoon Usagi was located at latitude 20.2°N and longitude 120.2°E which put the center about 145 miles (235 km) south of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.  Usagi was moving toward the north-northwest at 9 m.p.h. (15 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 80 m.p.h. (130 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 100 m.p.h. (160 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 977 mb.

Typhoon Usagi Hits Northern Luzon

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Typhoon Usagi hit northern Luzon on Wednesday night.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday the center of Typhoon Usagi was located at latitude 17.6°N and longitude 122.7°E which put the center about 1205 miles (195 km) southeast of Aparri, Philippines.  Usagi was moving toward the northwest at 14 m.p.h. (22 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 150 m.p.h. (240 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 185 m.p.h. (295 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 915 mb.

Typhoon Usagi rapidly intensified to the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale east of Luzon on Wednesday.  A small circular eye with a diameter of 5 miles (8 km) was at the center of Usagi’s circulation.  The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms.  Bands of showers and thunderstorms revolved around the core of Typhoon Usagi.  Storms near the core of Usagi generated strong upper level divergence that pumped large quantities of mass away from the typhoon in all directions.  The removal of large amounts of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease rapidly.  The inner end of a rainband wrapped around the existing eye and eyewall at the center of Usagi’s circulation during Wednesday evening and concentric eyewalls could be forming.

The circulation around Typhoon Usagi was small.  Winds to typhoon force extended out 30 miles (50 km) from the center of Usagi’s circulation.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 85 miles (135 km) from the center of Typhoon Usagi.

The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Typhoon Usagi was 31.6.  The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) was 9.4 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 41.0 . Typhoon Usagi was similar in size to Hurricane Ida when Ida hit Louisiana in 2021.  Usagi was not as big as Ida was.

Typhoon Usagi will move around the southern side of a high pressure system over the Western North Pacific Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Usagi toward the northwest during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, the center of Typhoon Usagi will move across northeast Luzon during the next few hours.

Typhoon Usagi will bring strong winds and heavy rain to northern Luzon.  Heavy rain could cause flash floods and mudslides in some locations.  Usagi could cause a storm surge of up to 13 feet ( 4 meters) on the coast of northeastern Luzon.  The area likely to be hit by Usagi was just hit by Typhoon Toraji a few days ago.  Typhoon Usagi will complicate recovery efforts in Luzon.

Elsewhere over the Western North Pacific Ocean, former Tropical Storm Toraji weakened to a tropical depression south of Hong Kong, and Tropical Storm Man-yi was moved north of Yap.

At 10:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday the center of Tropical Depression Toraji was located at latitude 21.0°N and longitude 113.9°E which put the center about 90 miles (145 km) south of Hong Kong.  Toraji was moving toward the west-southwest at 5 m.p.h. (8 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 35 m.p.h. (55 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1005 mb.

At 10:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday the center of Tropical Storm Man-yi was located at latitude 11.1°N and longitude 137.0°E which put the center about 120 miles (195 km) north of Yap. Man-yi was moving toward the west-southwest at 20 m.p.h. (32 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 1000 mb.

Typhoon Usagi Rapidly Intensifies to Equivalent of a Major Hurricane

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Typhoon Usagi rapidly intensified to the equivalent of a major hurricane over the Western North Pacific Ocean east of Luzon on Wednesday.  At 10:00 a.m. EST on Wednesday the center of Typhoon Usagi was located at latitude 16.5°N and longitude 124.8°E which put the center about 485 miles (780 km) east-southeast of Aparri, Philippines.  Usagi was moving toward the west-northwest at 15 m.p.h. (24 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 130 m.p.h. (210 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 160 m.p.h. (260 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 949 mb.

Typhoon Usagi rapidly intensified to the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale east of Luzon on Wednesday.  A small circular eye with a diameter of 5 miles (8 km) formed at the center of Usagi’s circulation.  The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms.  Bands of showers and thunderstorms revolved around the core of Typhoon Usagi.  Storms near the core of Usagi generated strong upper level divergence that pumped large quantities of mass away from the typhoon in all directions.  The removal of large amounts of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease rapidly.

The circulation around Typhoon Usagi was small.  Winds to typhoon force extended out 30 miles (50 km) from the center of Usagi’s circulation.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 80 miles (130 km) from the center of Typhoon Usagi.

The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Typhoon Usagi was 25.1.  The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) was 9.4 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 34.5.  Typhoon Usagi was similar in size to Hurricane Harvey when Harvey hit Texas in 2017.  Usagi was not as big as Harvey was.

Typhoon Usagi will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  Usagi will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 30°C.  It will move under the axis of an upper level ridge over the Western North Pacific Ocean.  The upper level winds are weak near the axis of the ridge and there will be little vertical wind shear.  Typhoon Usagi could continue to intensify during the next 24 hours.  However, since the core of Usagi’s circulation is so small, the inner end of a rainband could wrap around the core.  If concentric eyewalls form, an eyewall replacement cycle would halt the intensification of Typhoon Usagi.

Typhoon Usagi will move around the southern side of a high pressure system over the Western North Pacific Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Usagi toward the west-northwest during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, the center of Typhoon Usagi will move near northeast Luzon in 18 hours.

Typhoon Usagi will bring strong winds and heavy rain to northern Luzon.  Heavy rain could cause flash floods and mudslides in some locations.  Usagi could cause a storm surge of up to 13 feet ( 4 meters) on the coast of northeastern Luzon.  The area likely to be hit by Usagi was just hit by Typhoon Toraji a few days ago.  Typhoon Usagi will complicate recovery efforts in Luzon.

Elsewhere over the Western North Pacific Ocean, Tropical Storm Toraji was approaching the coast of China east of Hong Kong, and Tropical Storm Man-yi was moving away from the Marianas.

At 10:00 a.m. EST on Wednesday the center of Tropical Storm Toraji was located at latitude 21.9°N and longitude 114.9°E which put the center about 65 miles (105 km) east-southeast of Hong Kong.  Toraji was moving toward the north at 14 m.p.h. (22 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 995 mb.

At 10:00 a.m. EST on Wednesday the center of Tropical Storm Man-yi was located at latitude 11.7°N and longitude 140.4°E which put the center about 280 miles (450 km) west-southwest of Guam.  Man-yi was moving toward the west-southwest at 16 m.p.h. (26 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1002 mb.

Usagi Strengthens to a Typhoon East of Southern Vietnam

Former Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened into a typhoon east of southern Vietnam on Friday night.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Friday the center of Typhoon Usagi was located at latitude 9.6°N and longitude 109.2°E which put it about 205 miles (335 km) east-southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  Usagi was moving toward the west-southwest at 10 m.p.h. (16 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 80 m.p.h. (130 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 100 m.p.h. (160 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 977 mb.

A small circular eye was visible at the center of Typhoon Usagi on both conventional and microwave satellite imagery.  The eye was surrounded by a ring of strong thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms.  Several bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the core of Typhoon Usagi.  The strongest rain bands were in the western half of the typhoon.  Storms near the core of Usagi were generating upper level divergence which was pumping mass away from the typhoon.  Winds to typhoon force extended out about 30 miles (50 km) from the center of circulation.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out about 125 miles (200 km) from the center.

Typhoon Usagi will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  Usagi will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 29°C.  It will move south of an upper level ridge.  The ridge will produce easterly winds which will blow toward the top of the circulation.  Those winds will cause some vertical wind shear, which will reduce the rate of intensification.  Typhoon Usagi will strengthen on Saturday.

The ridge north of Typhoon Usagi will steer the typhoon a little to the south of due west.  On its anticipated track the center of Typhoon Usagi will approach the Mouths of the Mekong River in about 24 hours.  Usagi will bring strong winds and drop heavy rain on southern Vietnam.  Winds to tropical storm force could affect Ho Chi Minh City.  There could be a storm surge of 6 to 9 feet (2 to 3 meters) along the coast.  Locally heavy rain could cause floods over portions of southern Vietnam and Cambodia.

Elsewhere over the Western North Pacific Typhoon Man-yi started to weaken southeast of Okinawa.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Friday the center of Typhoon Man-yi was located at latitude 18.1°N and longitude 135.4°E which put it about 760 miles (1230 km) southeast of Okinawa.  Man-yi was moving toward the north at 5 m.p.h. (8 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 90 m.p.h. (145 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 115 m.p.h. (185 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 969 mb.