2003 Summary 2004 Summary >

Summary of Information on Typhoons in 2003

2003-12-30

The number of typhoons in the year 2003 was 21, a smaller number than the average number of 27. In the following, significant typhoons of this year are reviewed. Typhoon 200310 (ETAU) The typhoon moved on almost the same track with the Second Muroto Typhoon, and it made a landfall on Shikoku without losing its strong intensity. Luckily the damage in Shikoku and Kansai area was minor, but Hokkaido area, where the typhoon struck later, had a great loss from the typhoon. The disaster was especially severe in Hidaka district, where the damage of famous horce farms gave a shock to horce racing fans, and the communication delay of advisories and warnings was also pointed out. Typhoon 200314 (MAEMI) The typhoon struck directly at Miyako Island, recording the maximum gust of 74.1m/s (which is the maximum record in these 30 years in Japan), and even islanders who are accustomed to typhoons felt a fear from the wind. Most of the glasses on the building were crashed into pieces, but the damage was smaller than that of former Miyakojima Typhoons thanks to various measures for mitigating typhoon disasters. Korea, on the other hand, was later struck by the same typhoon, and heavy rain with strong winds caused extensive damage including more than 100 casualties. Typhoon 200318 (PARMA) In a sense, this is the strangest typhoon of the year. The track of the typhoon drew a nearly perfect gigantic loop in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Since such a loopy track has been rarely observed, this typhoon attracted people's attention as the going-around typhoon, in spite of its little impact on Japan. The track happened to be loopy probably because of coincidentally favorable meteorological conditions including an interaction with Typhoon 200317 (KETSANA), but it is an interesting question on what kind of meteorological conditions this loopy track may occur.

Links

Related Typhoon Blog Entries

  1. Typhoon 200518 (DAMREY)
  2. Typhoon 201401 (LINGLING)
  3. Typhoon 200423 (TOKAGE)
  4. Typhoon 200921 (MIRINAE)
  5. Typhoon 200519 (LONGWANG)
  6. Typhoon 200604 (BILIS)
  7. Typhoon 200413 (RANANIM)
  8. Typhoon 201520 (KROVANH)
  9. Typhoon 200809 (KAMMURI)
  10. Typhoon 201225 (WUKONG)