The 2002 Pacific typhoon season was an above average season. There were 26 named storms, 15 of which became typhoons, and eight super typhoons. The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, to the north of the equator between 100°E and the 180th meridian.
About 2002 Pacific typhoon season in brief
The 2002 Pacific typhoon season was an above average season. There were 26 named storms, 15 of which became typhoons, and eight super typhoons. The season’s first typhoon, Mitag, reached typhoon status on March 1, and became the first super typhoon of the year four days later, later was beaten by Typhoon Maysak in 2015. The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, to the north of the equator between 100°E and the 180th meridian. The Japan Meteorological Agency will name a tropical cyclone should it be judged to have 10-minute sustained wind speeds of at least 65 kmh anywhere in the basin. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration assigns names to tropical cyclones which move into or form as a tropical depression in their area of responsibility. The JTWC also issued warnings on storms within the basin, operating from Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and supplying forecasts to the United States Armed Forces in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In June, Typhoon Chataan dropped heavy rainfall in the Federated States of Micronesia, killing 48 people. In August, Typhoon Rusa became the deadliest typhoon to be recorded in the Philippines, leaving 48 people dead and causing heavy damage in Japan. In December, Typhoon Bolaven became the season’s last named storm, dissipating on December 11. Overall, there were 44 tropical depressions declared unofficially or officially, of which 26 became named storms; of those there were 15 typhoons which were the equivalent of a minimal hurricane, while 8 of the 15 typhoon intensified into super typhones.
The first storm of the season, Tapah, developed on January 11, while the last storm, Bolaven, dissipated on Dec. 11. The activity was an active season, with many tropicalcyclones affecting Japan and China. Every month had tropical activity, with most storms forming from July through October. The agency noted a stronger than normal subtropical ridge over the open Pacific ocean, as well as ongoing El Niño conditions that favored development, but expected below-normal development in the South China Sea. On March 6, meteorologists from University College London at TropicalStormRisk. com issued a forecast for the season for above average activity, since sea surface temperatures were expected to be slightly warmer than usual. The group raised the number of predicted storms in April to 29. 6, and again in early May to 30. 5. These predictions proved to be largely accurate, with the group ultimately overestimated thenumber of storms that would form. During the year, the JMA issued advisories on tropical Cyclones west of the International Date Line to the Malay Peninsula, as designated by the World Meteorological Organization in 1989, in its role as the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center. The agency moved their backup facility from Yokosuka, Kanagawa in Japan to Monterey, California in 2002.
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This page is based on the article 2002 Pacific typhoon season published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
