1983 Pacific typhoon season: Encyclopedia II - 1983 Pacific typhoon season - Storms

1983 Pacific typhoon season - Storms

24 tropical depressions formed this year in the Western Pacific, of which 23 became tropical storms. 12 storms reached typhoon intensity, of which 4 reached super typhoon strength.

Only a few storms during 1983 were named. Western North Pacific tropical cyclones were named by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The first storm of 1983 was named Sarah and the final one was named Thelma.

1983 Pacific typhoon season - Tropical Storm Sarah

When Tropical Storm Sarah formed in the South China Sea on June 24, it became the latest start of a season since 1973. Sarah moved northwestward, hit Vietnam, and dissipated on the 26th.

1983 Pacific typhoon season - Typhoon Vera

The monsoon trough spawned a tropical depression on July 12, east of the Philippines. It headed westward, strengthening to a tropical storm that night and a typhoon on the 13th. Vera made landfall on the 14th as an 85 mph typhoon, weakened over the islands, and restrengthened over the South China Sea to a 100 mph typhoon. Vera struck Hainan Island on the 17th, crossed the Gulf of Tonkin, and dissipated over Vietnam on the 18th. Vera brought torrential flooding, resulting in the deaths of over 100 people.

1983 Pacific typhoon season - Super Typhoon Forrest

Super Typhoon Forrest developed in the Western Pacific Ocean in September over the open ocean. At the time it was the fastest-developing tropical cyclone on record, with a pressure drop of 92 mbar in a 24 hour period, a record (possibly - see Wilma article) broken by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Forrest struck Japan as a tropical storm on the 28th, causing 21 casualties and moderate damage.

1983 Pacific typhoon season - Tropical Storm Kim

45 mph Tropical Storm Kim, which formed in the South China Sea on October 14, hit southeastern Vietnam late on the 16th. It weakened over land, but retained its circulation, and redeveloped into a tropical depression on the 19th in the northeastern Bay of Bengal in the North Indian Ocean. Kim continued northwestward, and dissipated on the 20th over Myanmar. Kim, though a weak storm, caused 200 fatalities and extensive crop damage from heavy rainfall.

1983 Pacific typhoon season - Typhoon Lex

Hundreds of people were killed when Tropical Storm Lex, downgraded from a typhoon, hit eastern Vietnam on October 26.

1983 Pacific typhoon season - Typhoon Orchid

A tropical disturbance organized into a tropical depression on November 14 over the open West Pacific. It tracked southwestward then westward, slowly organizing into a tropical storm on the 17th. Orchid's motion became erratic, and it drifted northward, always remaining within 850 nautical miles of Typhoon Percy, a slow moving typhoon in the South China Sea. Orchid reached her peak of 145 mph winds on the 23rd, before vertical shear caused it to weaken. The storm turned southward, where it dissipated on the 27th. Though the storm was fairly close to the Philippines, no damage was reported. However, an intra-island ferry capsized, resulting in the deaths of 167 passengers.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Storms", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki