MONTHLY GLOBAL TROPICAL CYCLONE SUMMARY JUNE, 2008 (For general comments about the nature of these summaries, as well as information on how to download the tabular cyclone track files, see the Author's Note at the end of this summary.) ************************************************************************* JUNE HIGHLIGHTS --> Typhoon causes great loss of life in Philippines ************************************************************************* WIKIPEDIA TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORTS Short reports with satellite pictures and small-scale maps for all tropical cyclones may be found at the following links: For some storms more detailed reports have been prepared. In those cases I will include the specific links in the reports for the applicable tropical cyclones. ************************************************************************* !!!!!!!!!! EXTRA FEATURE !!!!!!!!!! A REVIEW OF THE 2007 TROPICAL CYCLONE SEASON FOR THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE Following is a tabular summary of all the tropical depressions, tropical storms, hurricanes, and typhoons which occurred in the Northern Hemisphere between 1 January and 31 December 2007, as reported in the Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summaries prepared by the author. (1) Number - this is the sequential cyclone number assigned by either TPC/NHC, CPHC in Honolulu, or JTWC. If neither of these agencies issued any warnings, no number will be given. (2) Name - the name (if any) assigned by either TPC/NHC, CPHC, IMD, or JMA (and PAGASA for Western North Pacific systems in their area of warning responsibility). (3) Dates - range of dates for which tracking information for the cyclone is available in the Global Tropical Cyclone Tracks files prepared by the author. (4) Pressure - Lowest central pressure (either estimated or recorded) during the lifetime of the cyclone. For Atlantic and Northeastern Pacific systems these will be the values reported in operational advisories from TPC/NHC or CPHC. For Northwest Pacific systems the central pressure estimates are taken from advisories issued by the Japanese Meteorological Agency. An asterisk (*) following the pressure indicates the reading was an actual measured pressure normally obtained by a drop- sonde released during an aerial reconnaissance flight. Central pressure is given in millibars, which is numerically equivalent to hectopascals. (5) MSW - maximum 1-minute average sustained windspeed in knots. For the Northwestern Pacific and North Indian Ocean basins, these will be the highest value assigned operationally by JTWC. For the Atlantic and Northeastern Pacific basins, the MSW values are taken from the official tropical cyclone reports prepared by the TPC/NHC Hurricane Specialists and which are available on TPC/NHC's website: . (6) Basins - tropical cyclone basins where the cyclone tracked during its life: ATL - North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea NEP - North Pacific east of Longitude 180 NWP - North Pacific west of Longitude 180 (including South China Sea) NIO - Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea For tropical systems in the NWP basin, two additional columns of information are given: (1) The tropical storm serial number assigned by the Japanese Meteorological Agency to tropical depressions which are deemed to have reached tropical storm intensity. This does not always agree with JTWC's assessment. (2) An estimate of the maximum 10-minute average sustained wind. The value given represents the highest 10-min avg MSW assigned by any agency. If from any warning center other than JMA, a numbered note below identifies which center's value is given. A number in parentheses (e.g. (1) ) following an entry refers to a note following the entries for the given basin. A separate table is given for each of the four Northern Hemisphere basins. ************************************************************************* ATLANTIC BASIN NUM NAME DATES CENT PRS MSW BASIN (mb) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 Andrea 06-14 May 1001 50 ATL (1) 02 Barry 01-05 Jun 997 * 50 ATL 03 Chantal 30 Jul-04 Aug 994 45 ATL 04 Dean 13-23 Aug 906 * 150 ATL 05 Erin 15-19 Aug 995 50 ATL (2) 06 Felix 31 Aug-05 Sep 930 * 150 ATL 07 Gabrielle 04-12 Sep 1004 * 50 ATL (4) 08 Ingrid 12-18 Sep 1002 40 ATL 09 Humberto 12-14 Sep 985 * 80 ATL 10 ----- 18-22 Sep 1005 * 30 ATL 11 Jerry 20-25 Sep 1003 35 ATL (4) 12 Karen 25-30 Sep 988 65 ATL (3) 13 Lorenzo 25-28 Sep 990 * 70 ATL 14 Melissa 23 Sep-02 Oct 1005 35 ATL 15 ----- 11-13 Oct 1011 30 ATL 16 Noel 28 Oct-05 Nov 980 * 70 ATL (5) 17 Olga 10-16 Dec 1003 50 ATL (4) -- ----- 26 Dec-02 Jan 1004 45 ATL (6) NOTES: (1) System was a subtropical storm which never acquired full tropical characteristics. The max winds/min pressure given above are for the subtropical portion of its life only. The parent extratropical cyclone from which Andrea evolved produced winds exceeding hurricane force. (2) The peak winds during the lifetime of Tropical Storm Erin occurred during a brief and very surprising intensification episode over Oklahoma hundreds of miles inland and three days after landfall on the Texas coast. NHC has officially not classified this phase of Erin's life as a tropical storm, but there are some meteorologists who disagree with this assessment. (3) Upgraded to a hurricane during post-storm analysis. (4) System was initially named as a subtropical storm but made the transition into a tropical cyclone. (5) Winds reached 75 kts after Noel had become, or at least was in the process of becoming, an extratropical cyclone. (6) System was a non-tropical LOW south of the Azores that developed organized convection. It looked best on 29 December when satellite intensity estimates were 35-40 kts, and may have been a subtropical storm that day before merging with a front and weakening on the 30th. (Comments from Jack Beven.) Drifting buoy 62901 reported a pressure of 1004.6 mb at 31/0000 UTC very near the low-level center, and an ASCAT pass around the same time revealed a few 45-kt wind vectors near the swath edge in the northwestern semicircle, where the pressure gradient would be tightest due to high pressure centered to the northwest. ************************************************************************* NORTHEAST PACFICIC BASIN NUM NAME DATES CENT PRS MSW BASIN (mb) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01E Alvin 27-31 May 1003 35 NEP 02E Barbara 29 May-02 Jun 1000 45 NEP 03E ----- 11-13 Jun 1004 30 NEP 04E ----- 09-11 Jul 1006 30 NEP 05E ----- 14-16 Jul 1006 30 NEP 06E Cosme 14-23 Jul 987 65 NEP 07E Dalila 22-27 Jul 995 50 NEP 08E Erick 31 Jul-02 Aug 1004 35 NEP 09E Flossie 08-16 Aug 949 120 NEP 10E Gil 29 Aug-02 Sep 1001 40 NEP 11E Henriette 30 Aug-06 Sep 972 75 NEP 12E Ivo 18-24 Sep 984 70 NEP 13E ----- 19-20 Sep 1007 30 NEP 14E Juliette 29 Sep-02 Oct 997 50 NEP 15E Kiko 15-25 Oct 991 60 NEP ************************************************************************* NORTHWEST PACFICIC BASIN JTWC NAME(S) JMA DATES CENT MSW MSW BASIN NUM TROP STM PRS 1-MIN 10-MIN NUM (mb) (kts) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01W Kong-rey 0701 31 Mar-07 Apr 960 90 75 NWP 02W Yutu/Amang 0702 15-25 May 935 125 95 NWP 03W Toraji 0703 03-06 Jul 996 35 35 NWP 04W Man-yi/Bebeng 0704 07-20 Jul 930 130 95 NWP (1) 05W Usagi 0705 27 Jul-07 Aug 945 120 90 NWP 06W ----- ---- 02-07 Aug 994 35 30 NWP 07W Pabuk/Chedeng 0706 04-14 Aug 975 65 65 NWP 08W Wutip/Dodong 0707 06-09 Aug 990 40 40 NWP --- ----- ---- 10-12 Aug 992 -- 30 NWP (2) 09W Sepat/Egay 0708 11-22 Aug 910 140 110 NWP --- ----- ---- 14-15 Aug 1002 -- 30 NWP (2) --- ----- ---- 21-25 Aug 1004 -- 30 NWP (2) 10W Fitow 0709 26 Aug-09 Sep 970 85 65 NWP (3) 11W Danas 0710 06-17 Sep 994 60 50 NWP --- ----- ---- 09-14 Sep 1000 -- 30 NWP (2) 12W Nari/Falcon 0711 11-18 Sep 940 120 95 NWP 13W Wipha/Goring 0712 15-21 Sep 930 135 100 NWP 14W ----- ---- 19-21 Sep 1006 30 25 NWP 15W Francisco 0713 21-26 Sep 990 45 45 NWP 16W Lekima/Hanna 0714 27 Sep-04 Oct 975 70 60 NWP (4) 17W Krosa/Ineng 0715 01-09 Oct 925 130 105 NWP --- Haiyan 0716 30 Sep-07 Oct 998 65 35 NWP (5) --- Podul 0717 03-09 Oct 990 55 35 NWP (6) 18W Lingling 0718 09-19 Oct 994 45 45 NWP (7) 19W Kajiki 0719 18-25 Oct 945 110 90 NWP (8) 20W Faxai/Juaning 0720 24-31 Oct 980 40 55 NWP 21W Peipah/Kabayan 0721 02-10 Nov 970 75 70 NWP 22W Tapah 0722 10-13 Nov 996 35 35 NWP 23W Hagibis/Lando 0724 18-28 Nov 970 85 70 NWP 24W Mitag/Mina 0723 20-27 Nov 955 95 80 NWP (9) 25W ----- ---- 26-27 Nov --- 25 -- MWP (10) 26W ----- ---- 28-29 Nov --- 35 -- NWP (11) NOTES: (1) Dr. Karl Hoarau performed his own analysis of Typhoon Man-yi and does not believe that it reached 130 kts, but rather peaked at 125 kts (1-min avg). (2) Classified as a tropical depression by JMA only. (3) The times of JTWC's and JMA's respective peak intensities do not coincide. When JMA was estimating 65 kts (10-min avg), JTWC's peak MSW was 80 kts (1-min avg). At the time of JTWC's peak 1-min avg MSW of 85 kts, JMA's 10-min avg MSW was 60 kts. (4) This system was classified as Tropical Storm Hanna well before it was officially named Lekima by JMA, by which time it had moved westward out of PAGASA's AOR. (5) No warnings were issued on TS Haiyan by JTWC. The 1-min avg MSW estimates were sent to the author by Dr. Karl Hoarau. (6) No warnings were issued on TS Podul by JTWC. The 1-min avg MSW estimates were sent to the author by Dr. Karl Hoarau. (7) The peak 1-min avg MSW of 45 kts was estimated by Dr. Karl Hoarau during a time prior to warnings being issued on this system by any agency. The peak operational 1-min avg MSW assigned by JTWC was 35 kts, concurrent with the peak 10-min avg of 45 kts assigned by JMA. (8) Dr. Karl Hoarau performed a Dvorak analysis of TY Kajiki and estimates the peak 1-min avg MSW at 125 kts. (9) The times of JTWC's and JMA's respective peak intensities do not coincide. When JMA was estimating 80 kts (10-min avg), JTWC's peak MSW was 90 kts (1-min avg). At the time of JTWC's peak 1-min avg MSW of 95 kts, JMA's 10-min avg MSW was 75 kts. (10) While JTWC's peak 1-min avg MSW was only 25 kts, several SAB satellite fix bulletins rated the system at T2.0/2.0, suggesting that the depression produced 30-kt winds at some point. JMA never referenced this system in their High Seas bulletins, even as a low-pressure area. According to Dr. Karl Hoarau, microwave imagery clearly indicated the presence of a LLCC. (11) JTWC issued only two warnings on this system, and the highest MSW was only 25 kts. Rather unusual, given that the translational speed was 29 kts! Dr. Karl Hoarau estimates that the MSW peaked at 35 kts, and I included that value in the track I prepared. The Dvorak estimates from JTWC's own satellite analyst reached T2.5/2.5 for several hours, and one SAB rating reached T3.0/3.0. There was ample evidence from satellite imagery, plus the rapid forward motion, to believe that this system was a tropical storm. JMA never elevated the system above weak depression status. ************************************************************************* NORTH INDIAN OCEAN BASIN NUM NAME DATES CENT PRS MSW BASIN (mb) (kts) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01B Akash 12-15 May --- 65 NIO 02A Gonu 01-07 Jun 920 140 NIO 03B Yemyin 21-27 Jun --- 50 NIO (1) 04B ----- 27 Jun-01 Jul --- 45 NIO --- ----- 05-06 Aug --- 30 NIO 05A ----- 27 Oct-04 Nov --- 45 NIO --- ----- 26-28 Oct --- 30 NIO 06B Sidr 10-16 Nov --- 135 NIO (2) NOTES: (1) This system was not officially named operationally by IMD, who has official naming responsibility for the NIO basin. However, the Pakistani Meteorological Service unofficially named the storm Yemyin and this name was given wide dissemination by the press. Later, IMD re-analyzed the system to have been of cyclone intensity and made the decision to officially let the name Yemyin stand. The highest MSW assigned to Yemyin by JTWC was 50 kts, but based on most Dvorak intensity estimates, microwave imagery, and at least one SLP observation a few hours after landfall, the storm was likely of hurricane intensity when it made landfall in Pakistan. (2) Dr. Karl Hoarau believes that Sidr peaked at 140 kts. ************************************************************************* ACTIVITY BY BASINS ATLANTIC (ATL) - North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico Activity for June: No tropical cyclones Atlantic Tropical Activity for June ----------------------------------- Other than the presence of Tropical Storm Arthur inland over the southern Yucatan Peninsula at the beginning of the month, no tropical cyclones operated in Atlantic waters during June. During the latter week of the month, and very curious feature was observed in equatorial regions of the eastern Atlantic: a small vortex with a clockwise rotation north (barely) of the equator! Some images of this feature may be found at the following URL: According to Scott Bachmeier, the imagery seems to suggest that the source of the vortex may have been an area of convection over the tropical Atlantic Ocean, centered around 1.5S/28.0W on 24 June. This convection produced an outflow boundary, which could be seen propagating northwestward on the 24/1145 and 24/1445 UTC visible images. The vortex first becomes apparent in the visible image at 1745 UTC, located some distance behind the aforementioned outflow boundary. The vortex then becomes difficult to follow, until it is again obvious on the 1145 UTC visible image on 26 June (located near 0.5N/33.5W). From that time, the feature is more easily tracked using the 30-min interval images at the above link. ************************************************************************* NORTHEAST PACIFIC (NEP) - North Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 180 Activity for June: 1 tropical storm 1 hurricane Sources of Information ---------------------- Most of the information presented below was obtained from the various tropical cyclone products issued by the Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center (TPC/NHC) in Miami, Florida (or the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) in Honolulu, Hawaii, for locations west of longitude 140W): discussions, public advisories, forecast/advisories, tropical weather outlooks, special tropical disturbance statements, etc. Some additional information may have been gleaned from the monthly summaries prepared by the hurricane specialists and available on TPC/NHC's website. All references to sustained winds imply a 1-minute averaging period unless otherwise noted. HURRICANE BORIS (TC-02E) 27 June - 4 July ------------------------------------ Tropical Storm Boris developed from an area of low pressure associated with an easterly wave which had departed the coast of West Africa on 15 June. The system moved across the tropical North Atlantic as a high-amplitude disturbance, crossing into the Northeast Pacific basin on 23 June. Convection slowly became organized during the next few days as the wave continued moving slowly westward. The system developed into Tropical Depression 02E early on 27 June while located about 495 nm south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Later the same day, TD-02E strengthened into Tropical Storm Boris. Boris moved generally westward during the next two days with little change in intensity. On the 29th the cyclone strengthened to 60 kts with a ragged eye apparent for several hours. Boris maintained near-hurricane strength on 30 June and became the Eastern Pacific's first hurricane of the 2008 season at 0600 UTC on 1 July while located approximately 990 nm west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Boris never intensified above minimal hurricane strength and soon began to weaken due to the effects of cooler SSTs. The hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm at 02/1800 UTC, and further weakened to a tropical depression on the 3rd. Boris' remnants degenerated into a remnant LOW on 4 July located about 1235 nm west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. No damage or casualties are known to have resulted from Hurricane Boris. (Report written by Gary Padgett, based upon monthly summary for June prepared by staff of TPC/NHC) TROPICAL STORM CRISTINA (TC-03E) 27 June - 1 July ------------------------------------------- Tropical Storm Cristina's origins lay in a tropical wave which crossed Central America on 21 June and moved into the Northeast Pacific basin on the 22nd. For the next few days an area of showers and thunderstorms associated with the wave moved westward within the ITCZ with little change in organization. By 26 June the cloud pattern associated with the system began to increase in organization, and Tropical Depression 03E formed on the 27th about 915 nm southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. TD-03E initially moved west-northwestward and strengthened into a tropical storm on 28 June while turning toward the west. Cristina reached a peak intensity of 45 kts early on the 29th, but weakened into a tropical depression the next day. By early on 1 July the former tropical cyclone was a dissipating remnant LOW--the final TPC/NHC advisory placed the center near 14.1N/133.2W at 0300 UTC on 1 July. No damage or casualties are known to have resulted from Tropical Storm Cristina. (Report written by Gary Padgett, based upon monthly summary for June prepared by staff of TPC/NHC) ************************************************************************* NORTHWEST PACIFIC (NWP) - North Pacific Ocean West of Longitude 180 Activity for June: 1 typhoon Sources of Information ---------------------- Most of the information presented below is based upon tropical cyclone warnings and significant tropical weather outlooks issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center of the U. S. Air Force and Navy (JTWC), located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I normally annotate track coordinates from some of the various Asian warning centers when their center positions differ from JTWC's by usually 40-50 nm or more. All references to sustained winds imply a 1-minute averaging period unless otherwise noted. Michael V. Padua of Naga City in the Philippines, owner of the Typhoon 2000 website, normally sends me cyclone tracks based upon warnings issued by the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the Philippines' Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). A very special thanks to Michael for the assistance he so reliably provides. In the title line for each storm I have referenced all the cyclone names/numbers I have available: JTWC's depression number, the JMA-assigned name (if any), JMA's tropical storm numeric designator, and PAGASA's name for systems forming in or passing through their area of warning responsibility. Northwest Pacific Tropical Activity for June -------------------------------------------- As the month of June opened, Typhoon Nakri/Enteng was still stirring waters south of Japan. Nakri had peaked at 125 kts (105 kts per JMA) on 29 May and had subsequently weakened to minimal typhoon strength, but re-intensified to 80 kts on 2 June. However, this second flowering was short-lived and Nakri weakened later that day and became extra- tropical on the 3rd. The extratropical remnants continued moving east- northeastward across the North Pacific for another week. The report on Typhoon Nakri/Enteng may be found in the May summary. The only other tropical cyclone in Western Pacific waters during June was the deadly and destructive Typhoon Fengshen/Frank. More than 1000 lives were lost in the Philippines, including several hundred who drowned when a ferry capsized during the storm. A report on Fengshen/Frank follows. TYPHOON FENGSHEN (TC-07W / TY 0806 / FRANK) 17 - 27 June ---------------------------------------------- Fengshen: contributed by China, means 'God of wind' in Chinese A. Introduction --------------- Typhoon Fengshen was a late June typhoon of moderate intensity which slashed destructively through the Philippines where it was known as Typhoon Frank. The storm left a trail of death and destruction as it passed through the archipelago. According to the Wikipedia report, there were 1356 fatalities directly attributable to Fengshen/Frank with 41 others missing. Total damage is estimated at US$480 million. The storm also caused minor damage in Hong Kong, Macau, and southern China. Over 700 of the fatalities occurred when a ferry, the MV Princess of the Stars, capsized near Sibuyan Island as the typhoon roared by. B. Synoptic History ------------------- The JMA identified a developing tropical disturbance several hundred miles east of Mindanao as a weak tropical depression on 17 June. JTWC issued their first warning on Tropical Depression 07W at 1200 UTC on the 18th, locating the system approximately 155 nm northwest of Palau. PAGASA designated the system as Tropical Depression Frank, and JTWC upgraded TD-07W to tropical storm status on the second warning, issued at 18/1800 UTC. At 0000 UTC 19 June, JMA upped the intensity to 35 kts and assigned the international name Fengshen. Fengshen/Frank embarked on a west-northwesterly track toward the Philippines and quickly reached typhoon status, being upgraded by both JTWC and JMA at 19/1800 UTC. The storm struck Samar Island with an intensity of 75 kts early on the 20th and continued to intensify as it moved through the archipelago. Peak intensity of 95 kts (90 kts 10-min avg per JMA) and a CP of 945 mb was reached at 21/0000 UTC while the typhoon was centered over the Visayan Sea near 11.8N/122.3E. Shortly after reaching peak intensity Fengshen/Frank turned to a northwesterly track as high pressure to the north weakened. The storm passed very near Manila around 22/0000 UTC with the MSW estimated at 70-75 kts. Continuing northwestward across western Luzon, the system weakened into a tropical storm and had moved out over the South China Sea by 23/0000 UTC. Tropical Storm Fengshen maintained an intensity of 50-55 kts while traversing the South China Sea and made landfall in China near Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, around 2200 UTC on 24 June. Fengshen had weakened into a tropical depression by late on the 25th with JTWC and JMA issuing their final warnings at 25/1200 and 25/1800 UTC, respectively. The weakening remnants of Fengshen continued north- ward across China for a couple more days before dissipating. A detailed report on Typhoon Fengshen/Frank may be found at the following URL: The Hong Kong Observatory's report on Typhoon Fengshen may be found at the following link: C. Forecast Track Errors ------------------------ Forecast track errors were abysmal with Typhoon Fengshen. The model consensus consistently carried the cyclone north, initially even well east of the Philippines. And even after the system had emerged into the South China Sea, the model forecast tracks were converging on Taiwan. Only the UKMET model and perhaps one other correctly forecast the landfall in south China well to the west of where the other models were insisting that Fengshen would go. Initially a strong ridge was located north of the developing system, and the models kept breaking down the ridge and weakening it. This obviously didn't happen. Following are some comments from Roger Edson regarding Fengshen's track and the forecast errors (slightly edited): (1) East of the Philippines: As Fengshen developed, it had been going WNW for several days. I don't think the models realized how strong the ridge was to the north, and kept breaking it down and moving the TC (or its remnants) northward and east of Taiwan. (Most models could not even hold onto the circulation, however.) (2) Within the Philippines: Here the TC continued to rapidly intensify in spite of hopping over the various islands (not unusual for TCs in this area), and then made an almost 90-degree turn to the right (north) as if it were going to finally follow the recurve forecast. This abrupt turn was also unusual as I would usually expect it to continue through the islands into the South China Sea before recurving. Anyway, this was the time (maybe the only time during its life cycle) when the vertical extent of the TC was fully developed and the pressure tendency was toward the north, and it actually followed the mean tropospheric steering flow...and the model forecasts. (3) In the South China Sea: Thanks to a combination of strong north- easterly shear and some dry air to the north, the TC came out of the Philippines...and STAYED...as a 'half typhoon'---seemed like it was almost fully developed in the southern half of the circulation, and had hardly any deep convection (except for some brief periods of time over its center) over its northern half. Clearly, the various model forecasts did not take into consideration (or physically incorporate) this strong upper-level flow (above 400 mb). This seems to be something the forecaster always sees, especially in the water vapor imagery, but the models never seem to understand. (Similarly, we see this all the time with TUTT interaction). Normally, one would not forecast a TC to move directly into the shear! In addition, when the TC is not fully developed in the vertical, the models have a problem with identifying the 'apparent' steering flow as I don't think the vortex and the environmental interaction is accurately modeled. (Report written by Gary Padgett with inputs from Roger Edson) ************************************************************************* NORTH INDIAN OCEAN (NIO) - Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea Activity for June: 2 depressions North Indian Ocean Tropical Activity for June --------------------------------------------- No officially recognized tropical cyclones formed in the North Indian Ocean basin during June, but there were a couple of depressions. The first formed in the Arabian Sea near 15.5N/66.0E at 0000 UTC 5 June. This system moved generally northwestward over the next couple of days. I did prepare a track for this system in the June edition of the global tracks file. SAB assigned an intensity of T2.5/2.5 at 06/0230 UTC, but I left the MSW at 30 kts since neither JTWC nor IMD indicated tropical storm intensity. However, there were some opinions expressed via e-mail that the system was a weak tropical storm, based in part on some ASCAT data which showed 30-kt winds all the way around the depression. The system had weakened significantly by 7 June and the final track point was near 20.8N/62.8E at 07/0600 UTC. Another system in the Bay of Bengal was identified as a tropical depression by IMD. The low-pressure area had become a depression by 16 June and was centered at 0300 UTC near 21.5N/90.0E, or about 120 nm southeast of Kolkata (Calcutta). The depression subsequently moved northward and crossed the Bangladesh coastline between 16/1100 and 1200 UTC, and at 1200 UTC was centered over coastal Bangladesh near 22.0N/89.5E, or about 70 nm east-southeast of Kolkata. The system was forecast to continue further inland and weaken. No track was included for this depression in the companion cyclone tracks file. ************************************************************************* SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN (SWI) - South Indian Ocean West of Longitude 90E Activity for June: No tropical cyclones ************************************************************************* NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA/SOUTHEAST INDIAN OCEAN (AUW) - From 90E to 135E Activity for June: No tropical cyclones ************************************************************************* NORTHEAST AUSTRALIA/CORAL SEA (AUE) - From 135E to 160E Activity for June: No tropical cyclones ************************************************************************* SOUTH PACIFIC (SPA) - South Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 160E Activity for June: No tropical cyclones ************************************************************************* SPECIAL FEATURE - SOURCES OF TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION The purpose of this section is to list some websites where many and varied types of tropical cyclone information are archived. Many readers will know about these already, but for the benefit of those who don't, I wanted to include them. (1) Aircraft Reconnaissance Information --------------------------------------- Various types of messages from reconnaissance aircraft may be retrieved from the following FTP site: Information regarding how to interpret the coded reconnaissance messages may be found at the following URL: Links are also included to websites with further information about the U. S. Air Force 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the NOAA Air- craft Operations Center. (2) Archived Advisories ----------------------- All the advisory products (public advisories, forecast/advisories, strike probabilities, discussions, various graphics) issued by TPC/NHC are archived on TPC's website. For the current year (using 2004 as an example), the archived products can be found at: Links to tropical products archives for earlier years are available at the following URL: JTWC warnings for past storms are archived on the NRL Monterrey website: On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left corner of the screen. I am not aware at the moment of any other TCWC which archives all its tropical cyclone warning/advisory products for public access, but if I learn of any, I will add them to this list. (3) Satellite Imagery --------------------- Satellite images of tropical cyclones in various sensor bands are available on the NRL Monterrey and University of Wisconsin websites, courtesy of Jeff Hawkins and Chris Velden and their associates. The links are: On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left corner of the screen. For the CIMSS site, a link to data archives is located in the lower left portion of the screen. Additional tropical satellite imagery, along with looping ability for composite microwave imagery for the Western Hemisphere north of the equator, can be found at: (1) For the Eastern North Pacific: (2) For the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea: (4) Cyclone Tracking Information -------------------------------- There is a U. S. Navy site that tracks tropical cyclones at 6-hourly intervals which often includes pre and post-advisory positions. The link to the site is: Steve Young has compiled many of these tracks onto a single webpage which is very user-friendly: I'm sure there are other sites with available imagery available, and as I learn of them, I will add the links to this list. ************************************************************************* EXTRA FEATURE In order to shorten the amount of typing in preparing the narrative material, I have been in the habit of freely using abbreviations and acronyms. I have tried to define most of these with the first usage in a given summary, but I may have missed one now and then. Most of these are probably understood by a majority of readers but perhaps a few aren't clear to some. To remedy this I developed a Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms which I first included in the August, 1998 summary. I don't normally include the Glossary in most months in order to help keep them from being too long. If anyone would like to receive a copy of the Glossary, please e-mail me and I'll be happy to send them a copy. ************************************************************************* AUTHOR'S NOTE: This summary should be considered a very preliminary overview of the tropical cyclones that occur in each month. The cyclone tracks (provided separately) will generally be based upon operational warnings issued by the various tropical cyclone warning centers. The information contained therein may differ somewhat from the tracking and intensity information obtained from a "best-track" file which is based on a detailed post-seasonal analysis of all available data. Information on where to find official "best-track" files from the various warning centers will be passed along from time to time. The track files are not being sent via e-mail. They can be retrieved from the archive sites listed below. (Note: I do have a limited e-mail distribution list for the track files. If anyone wishes to receive these via e-mail, please send me a message.) Both the summaries and the track files are standard text files created in DOS editor. Download to disk and use a viewer such as Notepad or DOS editor to view the files. The first summary in this series covered the month of October, 1997. Back issues can be obtained from the following websites (courtesy of Michael Bath, Michael V. Padua, Michael Pitt, and Chris Landsea): Another website where much information about tropical cyclones may be found is the website for the UK Meteorological Office. Their site contains a lot of statistical information about tropical cyclones globally on a monthly basis. The URL is: TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORTS AVAILABLE JTWC now has available on its website the Annual Tropical Cyclone Report (ATCR) for 2007 (2006-2007 season for the Southern Hemisphere). ATCRs for earlier years are available also. The URL is: Also, TPC/NHC has available on its webpage nice "technicolor" tracking charts for the 2007 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific tropical cyclones; also, storm reports for all the 2007 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific cyclones are now available, as well as track charts and reports on storms from earlier years. The URL is: A special thanks to Michael Bath of McLeans Ridges, New South Wales, Australia, for assisting me with proofreading the summaries. PREPARED BY Gary Padgett E-mail: garyp@alaweb.com Phone: 334-222-5327 Kevin Boyle (Northwest Pacific) E-mail: newchapelobservatory@btinternet.com ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* Posted: 11.24.08 / Typhoon2000.ph, Typhoon2000.com