&sq=&lang=&file=File:Jelawat_2018-03-30_0550Z.png) Jelawat rapidly intensifying on the afternoon of March 30 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | March 24, 2018 |
| Dissipated | April 1, 2018 |
| Violent typhoon | |
| 10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
| Highest winds | 195 km/h (120 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 915 hPa (mbar); 27.02 inHg |
| Category 4-equivalent super typhoon | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 240 km/h (150 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 926 hPa (mbar); 27.34 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 3 total |
| Areas affected | Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, California |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Jelawat, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Caloy, was a powerful typhoon that affected the Caroline Islands in March 2018. The third tropical storm and the first typhoon of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season, Jelawat originated as a tropical disturbance that struck the Federated States of Micronesia before organizing into a tropical depression on March 24. It further intensified into a tropical storm on the following day, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, receiving the name Jelawat. Drifting northward, the storm remained unorganized while staying east of the Philippines, though environmental conditions became more favorable along its path. On March 29, Jelawat took an unexpected sharp turn east as it intensified into a typhoon. Upon shifting northeast, Jelawat rapidly intensified on March 30 due to low vertical wind shear and substantial outflow, peaking as a Category 4-equivalent super typhoon. Shortly afterward, the storm began to weaken as wind shear sharply increased, falling below typhoon strength on March 31. The storm transitioned into a subtropical cyclone on April 1, before dissipating on that same day.
The tropical disturbance that later became Typhoon Jelawat flooded parts of the Federated States of Micronesia. Most of the impact occurred in Pohnpei, where a person died and another was injured from a landslide. Infrastructure was critically damaged and many homes were flooded throughout the island. After Jelawat had dissipated, its remnants produced rip currents that claimed the life of a woman in Guam. These remnants flowed into an atmospheric river that extended to California, flooding areas of the U.S. state. Traffic was disrupted among the San Francisco Bay Area and other areas, resulting in four injuries and one death. In response to the disaster in the Federated States of Micronesia, the country received assistance from the United States.