Typhoon Hagibis

Typhoon Hagibis
Reiwa 1 East Japan Typhoon
Hagibis at peak intensity over the Northern Mariana Islands on October 7
Meteorological history
FormedOctober 4, 2019
ExtratropicalOctober 13, 2019
DissipatedOctober 22, 2019
Violent typhoon
10-minute sustained (JMA)
Highest winds195 km/h (120 mph)
Lowest pressure915 hPa (mbar); 27.02 inHg
Category 5-equivalent super typhoon
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC)
Highest winds295 km/h (185 mph)
Lowest pressure890 hPa (mbar); 26.28 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities139 (118 direct, 21 indirect)
Missing3
Damage$17.3 billion (2019 USD)
(Second-costliest typhoon on record in nominal terms; third-costliest typhoon when adjusted for inflation)
Areas affectedMariana Islands, Japan, Russia, Alaska
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata

Part of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Hagibis, known in Japan as Typhoon No.19 or Reiwa 1 East Japan Typhoon (令和元年東日本台風, Reiwa Gannen Higashi-Nihon Taifū),[1] was a large and costly tropical cyclone that caused widespread destruction in Japan. The thirty-eighth depression, nineteenth tropical storm, ninth typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season, it was the strongest typhoon to strike mainland Japan in decades, and one of the largest typhoons ever recorded, with a peak gale-force diameter of 825 nautical miles (949 mi; 1,528 km). The typhoon raised global media attention, as it greatly affected the 2019 Rugby World Cup being hosted by Japan.[2] Hagibis was also the deadliest typhoon to strike Japan since Typhoon Fran in 1976.[3]

Hagibis developed from a tropical disturbance located a couple hundred miles north of the Marshall Islands on October 2, 2019. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued a red tropical cyclone formation alert—noting that the disturbance could undergo rapid intensification upon being identified as a tropical depression. On the next day, October 3, both the Japan Meteorological Agency and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 20W. The depression stayed at the same intensity as it travelled west toward the Mariana Islands on October 4, but on October 5, 20W began undergoing rapid intensification and early that day, the system was issued with the name Hagibis by the JMA, which means "speed" in Filipino. Sea surface temperatures and wind shear became extremely favourable for tropical cyclogenesis and Hagibis started extremely rapid intensification on October 6, and became a Category 5 super typhoon in under 12 hours—the second of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season. Edging closer to the uninhabited areas of the Mariana Islands, Hagibis displayed excellent convection as well as a well-defined circulation. The system developed a pinhole eye and made landfall on the Northern Mariana Islands at peak intensity, with 10-minute sustained winds of 105 kn (195 km/h; 120 mph) and a central pressure of 915 hPa (27.02 inHg).[4]

Land interaction did not affect Hagibis much, but as the system continued to move westward, it underwent an eyewall replacement cycle, which is usual for all tropical cyclones of a similar intensity. The inner eyewall was robbed of its needed moisture and Hagibis began to weaken, but the storm developed a large, cloud-filled eye, which then became clear, and Hagibis restrengthened to reach its second peak. Travelling toward Japan, Hagibis encountered high vertical wind shear and its inner eyewall began to degrade, and the outer eyewalls rapidly eroded as its center began to be exposed. On October 12, Hagibis made landfall on Japan at 19:00 JST (10:00 UTC) on the Izu Peninsula near Shizuoka. Then, an hour later at 20:00 JST (11:00 UTC), Hagibis made its second landfall on Japan in the Greater Tokyo Area. Due to increasing wind shear at 60 knots (69 mph; 110 km/h), its structure became torn apart as it sped at 34 knots (39 mph; 63 km/h) north-northeast toward more hostile conditions. On October 13, Hagibis became an extratropical low and the JMA and JTWC issued their final advisories on the system. However, the extratropical remnant of Hagibis persisted for more than a week, before dissipating on October 22. Hagibis caused catastrophic destruction across much of eastern Japan. Hagibis spawned a large tornado on October 12, which struck the Ichihara area of Chiba Prefecture during the onset of Hagibis; the tornado, along with a 5.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast, caused additional damage to those areas that were damaged by Hagibis.[5][6] Hagibis caused more than $17 billion (2019 USD) in damages, making it, at the time, the costliest typhoon on record until it was beaten by Typhoon Doksuri of 2023 (when not adjusted for inflation).[7]

  1. ^ "気象庁が名称を定めた気象・地震・火山現象一覧" (in Japanese). Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  2. ^ "Jaw-dropping sport moments of 2019: Japan stun Scotland and shake up Rugby World Cup". December 26, 2019.
  3. ^ Hays, Jeffrey. "Typhoons in Japan". Facts and Details. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference DT-BT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Motoko, Rich (October 12, 2019). "Typhoon Hagibis Slams Into Japan, After Landslides, Floods and a Quake". The New York Times. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  6. ^ "Typhoon Hagibis makes landfall in Japan, leaving at least 10 dead". CNN. October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference MILT report was invoked but never defined (see the help page).