Typhoon Paka
| Typhoon ( JMA ) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 5 Typhoon ( SSHWS ) | |||
 |
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| Emergence | November 28, 1997 | ||
| resolution | December 23, 1997 | ||
|
Peak wind speed |
|
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| Lowest air pressure | 901 hPa ( mbar ) | ||
| dead | None known | ||
| Property damage | US $ 580 million (1997) | ||
|
Affected areas |
Marshall Islands , Guam , Mariana Islands | ||
| Season overview: Pacific hurricane season in 1997 , Pacific typhoon season 1997 |
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Super Typhoon Paka (05C) ( also called Super Typhoon Rubing in the PAGASA area ) was an exceptionally powerful and long-lasting tropical cyclone that caused substantial property damage in the southern Mariana Islands in December 1997.
Paka is the Hawaiian name for Pat.
Storm course
As the general weather pattern in the northern Pacific shifted from late autumn weather to early winter pattern, convection from the monsoon trough extended east beyond the international date line . At the end of November 1997 an equatorial westerly wind developed in a double channel on both sides of the equator ; the one in the southern hemisphere developed directly into Tropical Storm Pam , while the other in the northern hemisphere formed a convective area about 2,000 km southwest of Hawaii . The disturbance gradually organized itself better and on November 28th it created the tropical low pressure area Fünf-C, about 465 km west-northwest of the Palmyra Atoll . On the operational side, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) only began issuing severe weather warnings on the system on December 2nd.
The tropical low continued its pull in a north-northeast direction and initially failed to strengthen significantly. On December 1, due to a strong high pressure area on its north side , it turned in a westerly direction together with a meteorological channel that reached west over the date line. On December 2, the CPHC classified the depression based on satellite observations of tropical storm Paka when the system was about 1,000 km south-southeast of Johnston Atoll . Due to high clouds , the weather observers sometimes had difficulties correctly assessing the circulation at low altitude. Having turned into a tropical storm, Paka remained near-stationary for about two days before the storm moved west again. Due to warm water temperatures, the system intensified steadily and on December 3rd and the following day the storm reached wind speeds of 105 km / h before encountering dry air and weakening. During a twelve-hour phase on December 6th, the wind speeds decreased to minimal tropical storm conditions. Paka then began intensifying again and on December 7th, the storm crossed the dateline into the western North Pacific with one-minute winds of 80 km / h.
After reaching the western North Pacific, the observation obligations were transferred from the CPHC to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), which initially led Paka as a storm with 10-minute winds of 65 km. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) unofficially took over the warning functions of the United States Department of Defense . Paka continued its intensification after crossing the date line and sustained winds of 115 km / h ( 1 minute continuous, JTWC ) on the evening of December 7th and the following morning . However, wind shear at high altitude increased shortly afterwards and the system weakened again. At 1200 UTC on December 9th, the JTWC Paka led as a tropical storm with wind speeds of 85 km / h and predicted a further weakening, based on surface weather analyzes a continued high level of heavy winds was assumed. On December 10th, the shear began to slowly dissipate as the storm approached the Marshall Islands and the following night was upgraded to a typhoon by the JTWC Paka . Paka was only officially classified as a typhoon when the JMA at 0000 UTC on December 11th had wind speeds of 120 km / h ( 10 minutes, JMA ).
After Paka became a typhoon, the system strengthened fairly quickly, and on December 12, the typhoon reached 10-minute winds of 150 km / h or 1-minute winds of 215 km / h (JTWC). As the forward speed increased, the system weakened slightly and at 0600 UTC on December 13, JTWC classified the typhoon with winds of 175 km / h ( lasting 1 minute ). However, it regained its strength and on December 14th, 1200 UTC, the storm reached the unofficial designation super typhoon while it was still far out in the open Pacific Ocean. The JMA classified the typhoon with 10-minute sustained winds of 175 km / h. After the storm reached its first peak with winds of 260 km / h ( lasting 1 minute ) on December 15, Typhoon Paka began to weaken as it reached the southern Mariana Islands . The NEXRAD - Doppler radar on Guam revealed the presence of a primary eye with a diameter of 74 km and a fragmented inner wall of clouds 19 km in diameter. The storm slowed and began to get stronger again as it moved further west and on December 16 at 0530 UTC, northern half of Paka's outer eye rim passed Rota Island ; 20 minutes later the southern part of the inner edge of the cloud moved over northern Guam. Around 1200 UTC, the center of Paka passed about 28 km north of Hagåtña and thus reached the closest point of its approach to Guam.
Typhoon Paka continued to intensify after typhoon passed the Mariana Islands and, late on December 17th, it peaked at 185 km / h ( 10 minutes lasting ), about 440 km west-northwest of Guam. On December 18th, wind speeds of 295 km / h ( lasting 1 minute ) were measured by the JTWC . On December 19, Paka joined the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and was christened Rubing. Shortly thereafter, Paka migrated through an area of steadily increasing wind shear, which caused a trend towards steady weakening of Paka. On December 21, Paka was downgraded to a tropical storm and on December 23, the Japanese weather agency declared Paka dissolved.
Effects
Marshall Islands
On its way across the Marshall Islands as a tropical storm, Paka produced gusts of wind that reached 75 km / h over the Majuro Atoll and Kwajalein Atoll.
rota
Because the typhoon was intensifying as it passed the south of the island, the initial northeast to east winds were less strong than the second series of winds from the southeast.
Guam
Paka migrated to the Rota Channel on December 16. With wind speeds between 160 and 240 km / h, the typhoon passed his eyes near Andersen Air Force Base . The sea level is more than eleven meters above normal. Around 1500 structures were destroyed and another 10,000 damaged. About 5,000 people were made homeless. The loss of life in Guam has been minimal due to the widespread use of concrete in residential construction, strict building codes and public shelters for those who do not have adequate housing. The damage to infrastructure and property, however, was catastrophic. Total losses in buildings were limited to those made of light metal and wooden structures.
A gust of super typhoon Paka over Guam was measured at 380 km / h; However, the anemometer was damaged by the storm and therefore this value is not official. If confirmed, it would have been the highest wind speed unrelated to a tornado and ever measured on the surface of the earth . (The current maximum was measured at 372 km / h on Mount Washington in New Hampshire .)
consequences
On December 17, 1997, US President Bill Clinton declared Guam a federal disaster area, thereby enabling federal aid to be allocated. A week later, the Northern Mariana Islands were also declared a disaster area. In total, FEMA received 14,770 individual applications for aid from residents of Guam. FEMA assistance worth a total of 27,367,575 US dollars granted.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Benjamin C. Hablutzel, Hans E. Rosendal, James C. Weyman, Jonathan D. Hoag: The 1997 Central Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season. Central Pacific Hurricane Center, 1997, accessed April 29, 2007 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h 1997 ANNUAL TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORT - JOINT TYPHOON WARNING CENTER. (PDF) Joint Typhoon Warning Center, 1999, accessed April 20, 2014 .
- ↑ a b National Hurricane Center: Eastern Pacific hurricane best track analysis 1949-2014 ( English ) United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research. October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- ↑ a b c d e f Best Track of the 1997 Pacific Typhoon Season. Japan Meteorological Agency, 1997, archived from the original on November 24, 2005 ; Retrieved April 20, 2014 .
- ^ The United Nations Task Force on El Niño, et. al: The 1997-1998 El Niño Event: A Scientific and Technical Retrospect. (PDF; 9.2 MB) World Meteorological Organization, 1999, archived from the original on March 11, 2006 ; Retrieved April 19, 2007 .
- ^ Gary Padgett: Monthly Tropical Cyclone Summary, December 1997. 1998, archived from the original on August 3, 2007 ; accessed on April 20, 2014 (English).
- ↑ a b ABS Consulting: Super Typhoon Paka Damage Report. (PDF; 948 kB) ABS Consulting, 2007, archived from the original on September 5, 2012 ; Retrieved April 27, 2007 .
- ↑ US NAVAL FORCES MARIANAS. Archived from the original on April 23, 2002 ; accessed on April 20, 2014 (English).
- ↑ FEMA: Guam Typhoon Paka. 1997, accessed May 1, 2007 .
- ↑ FEMA: Northern Mariana Islands Typhoon. 1997, accessed May 1, 2007 .
- ↑ Super Typhoon Pongsona Assistance Surpasses Paka Totals ( Memento from March 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive )