&sq=&lang=&file=File:Megi_2016-09-27_0400Z.png) Typhoon Megi making landfall in Taiwan at peak intensity on September 27 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 22, 2016 |
| Dissipated | September 29, 2016 |
| Very strong typhoon | |
| 10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
| Highest winds | 155 km/h (100 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 945 hPa (mbar); 27.91 inHg |
| Category 4-equivalent typhoon | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 220 km/h (140 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 933 hPa (mbar); 27.55 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 52 total |
| Damage | $1.56 billion (2016 USD) |
| Areas affected | Caroline Islands, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, South and East China |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2016 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Megi (pronounced [me̞.ɟi]), known in the Philippines as Typhoon Helen, was a large and powerful tropical cyclone which affected Taiwan and eastern China in late September 2016. It is the seventeenth named storm and the seventh typhoon of the annual typhoon season. Megi started as a tropical disturbance in the northeast of Pohnpei. On September 21, JMA upgraded the disturbance to a tropical depression. The depression was immediately named Megi by the JMA as it was classified as a tropical storm. It was later then designated by JTWC as a newly formed Tropical Depression 20W. Moving northwestwards, Megi was trying to form an eye which prompted the agencies to upgrade into a typhoon. Megi later entered PAR, attaining the name Helen as it continued to intensify. Favorable conditions and low vertical wind shear allow Megi to perform an eyewall replacement cycle as it approaches Taiwan.
On September 26, Megi has reached its 1-minute winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) and a central pressure of 933 hPa (27.55 inHg). The typhoon later made landfall at Hualien City in Taiwan around 14:00 NST (06:00 UTC). The interaction with the high mountains result Megi to weaken significantly and emerge through Taiwan Strait. On September 28, Megi made its final landfall in Hui'an County, Fujian as a weakening severe tropical storm. Rapid weakening has ensued as it moved inland. Megi later dissipated on the next day.