Typhoon Usagi (2007)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Typhoon Usagi
Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 4 typhoon (SSHWS)
Usagi 01 aug 2007 0125Z.jpg
Typhoon Usagi on its peak intensity, to the south of Hiroshima, Japan.
FormedJuly 27, 2007
DissipatedAugust 7, 2007
(Remnant low after August 4)
Highest winds10-minute sustained: 165 km/h (105 mph)
1-minute sustained: 220 km/h (140 mph)
Lowest pressure945 hPa (mbar); 27.91 inHg
FatalitiesNone reported
Damage> $500 million (2007 USD)
Areas affectedMariana Islands, Guam, Japan, Kamchatka Peninsula
Part of the 2007 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Usagi was a powerful and destructive typhoon that struck Japan as a Category 1 typhoon in early-August of 2007, just thirteen days after Man-yi affected the country. The fifth named storm, and the fourth typhoon of the annual 2007 Pacific typhoon season, Usagi originated from a disturbance that developed to the east-northeast of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Moving to the southwest, the JTWC issued a TCFA on the system later that day, with also the JMA upgrading the system to a tropical depression. The depression soon became a tropical storm, receiving the name Usagi. Under favorable conditions, it rapidly intensified to a typhoon, with the storm developing a clear eye. It soon reached its peak intensity on August 1, shortly before weakening due to increasing wind shear and cooling sea surface temperatures. It soon made landfall near Kyushu, Japan as a Category 1 typhoon, the next day before entering the Sea of Japan. Turning to the north, the typhoon weakened as it started an extratropical transition and was completed on August 4. The JTWC tracked the system's remnants until it dissipated on the Bering Sea on August 7.

Meteorological history[]

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
▲ Extratropical cyclone / Remnant low / Tropical disturbance / Monsoon depression

On July 26, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center identified an area of disturbed weather east of the Mariana Islands. This area moved westward and increased in organization, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the system on July 27.[1] The Japan Meteorological Agency designated the system a tropical depression later that day.[2] The next day, the JMA began issuing advisories on the depression, and the JTWC followed suit, designating it Tropical Depression 05W.[3]

The system quickly strengthened as it approached the Mariana Islands, and the JTWC upgraded it to a tropical storm six hours later.[4] The JMA did so early on July 29, designating the system as Tropical Storm Usagi.[5]

Usagi passed between Pagan and Agrihan later on July 29,[6] and began to quickly strengthen. The JTWC upgraded it to a typhoon later that day, citing Dvorak technique numbers indicating an estimate of 65 knots (120 km/h, 75 mph) and a developing eye.[7] The system gradually turned toward the northwest, and the JMA upgraded it to a severe tropical storm early on July 30,[8] and then to a typhoon on July 31 as it passed to the south of Iwo Jima.[9] Usagi moved northwest over warm waters, reaching peak intensity on August 1 before weakening due to cooling sea surface temperatures and increasing wind shear as it approached Kyūshū. Usagi made landfall on August 2 near Nobeoka, Miyazaki as a rapidly weakening typhoon, and it was downgraded to a severe tropical storm shortly after. The system continued weakening rapidly as it moved across Kyūshū and Honshū, and the JMA downgraded it to a tropical storm later that day.[10]

The JTWC downgraded the system to a tropical storm late on August 2 and issued its last advisory early on August 3 as it began to undergo extratropical transition. Usagi then made further landfalls on northern Honshū in Aomori Prefecture before becoming fully extratropical on August 4, leading the JMA to stop advisories. The extratropical remnants of Usagi were tracked by the JTWC until it dissipated on August 7 over the Bering Sea.

Preparations[]

Northern Mariana Islands[]

The National Weather Service office in Guam issued tropical storm warnings for Pagan Island and Agrihan in the Northern Marianas shortly after the system was upgraded.[11]

Japan[]

Millions of residents from Shikoku and Honshu evacuated in preparation for the approaching typhoon.[12] The airlines in the country had cancelled some 240 domestic flights, affecting more than 22,000 passengers. Train services in Kyushu have been partially suspended, according to railway companies there.

Impact[]

The center of Usagi passed, just 40 kilometers to the north of Nyutabaru, bringing hurricane-force winds to the area.[13] As a typhoon, Usagi caused no known fatalities, but injured 18 individuals. The typhoon left almost 8,000 houses without power due to the downed electrical lines. There were also reports of flooding, landslides, and storm surge on the country's coast. It left over $500 million worth of damages across Japan.[14]

References[]

  1. ^ WX-TROPL Archives – July 2007, week 4 (#368)[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ WX-TROPL Archives – July 2007, week 4 (#393)[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ ftp://ftp.met.fsu.edu/pub/weather/tropical/GuamStuff/2007072815-WTPN.PGTW[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ ftp://ftp.met.fsu.edu/pub/weather/tropical/GuamStuff/2007072821-WTPN.PGTW[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ WX-TROPL Archives – July 2007, week 5 (#7)[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ WX-TROPL Archives – July 2007, week 5 (#8)[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ ftp://ftp.met.fsu.edu/pub/weather/tropical/GuamStuff/2007072921-WTPN.PGTW[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ WX-TROPL Archives – July 2007, week 5 (#80)[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ WX-TROPL Archives – July 2007, week 5 (#185)[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "WebCite query result". www.webcitation.org. Archived from the original on 2007-08-02. Cite uses generic title (help)
  11. ^ WX-TROPL Archives – July 2007, week 4 (#455)[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Typhoon Usagi injures 18, forces thousands to flee". Retrieved August 4, 2007.
  13. ^ "Typhoon Slams into Japan as an earthquake rocks East Russia". TerraDaily. August 2, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "2007 Annual Tropical Cyclone Report" (PDF). Retrieved March 2, 2021.
Retrieved from ""