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Tropical Storm Halong (2008)
Encyclopedia
Severe Tropical Storm Halong (international designation: 0804, JTWC
designation: 05W, PAGASA
name: Cosme) was the fourth severe tropical storm named by the Japan Meteorological Agency
(JMA) who are the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre
for the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center
also recognised Halong as the fifth tropical depression, the fourth tropical storm as well as the third typhoon of the 2008 Pacific typhoon season
.
Late on May 13 a tropical disturbance formed in the South China Sea
. Early the next day, the Japan Meteorological Agency
(JMA) and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
(PAGASA) designated the disturbance as a tropical depression, with PAGASA assigning the local name of Cosme. However the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
(JTWC) did not issue a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
until later that day. The JTWC then designated the depression as 05W on May 15. On May 16 both the JMA and the JTWC upgraded the depression to a tropical storm with the JMA designating it as Tropical Storm Halong and assigning the international number of 0804. This was 12 hours after PAGASA had upgraded it to a tropical storm. During that day Halong kept intensifying and was designated as a severe tropical storm early the next day by the JMA as it reached its peak wind speeds of 60 knots (70 mph 115 km/h). The JTWC then upgraded Halong to a typhoon with peak wind speeds of 70 knots (80 mph 130 km/h)) which made Halong a Category one typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
.
Later on May 17, Halong made landfall on the Philippine region of Pangasinan
and travelled towards the northeast over Luzon
. While over land Halong weakened into a tropical storm with both the JTWC and the JMA downgrading Halong early the next day. Later that day after reaching the Philippine Sea
, Halong started to restrengthen and intensified into a severe tropical storm. However it did not intensify any further and on May 19 weakened in to a tropical storm. Later that day, PAGASA issued their final advisory on Halong as it moved out of their area of responsibility. The JTWC then issued their last advisory on Halong as it had begun its extratropical transition. The JMA then reported that it had completed its extratropical transition and issued their final advisory on the remnant low of Halong. The remnants of Halong dissipated on May 24.
, Occidental Mindoro
and Lubang Island
. At its maximum coverage (at 0930 UTC May 17), Storm Signal Number 3 was issued for Zambales
, Pangasinan
, La Union
, Tarlac
, Benguet
and Ilocos Sur
, Signal Number 2 was for Bataan
, Bulacan
, Pampanga
, Nueva Viscaya, Nueva Ecija
, Quirino
, Ifugao
, Mt. Province, Kalinga
, Abra
, Apayao
and Ilocos Norte
and Signal Number 1 was raised for Lubang Island
, Batangas
, Cavite
, Laguna, Rizal
, northern Quezon
, Isabela
, Aurora
, Cagayan
, Calayan Island, Babuyan Group of Islands, Batanes
and Metro Manila
Further on as Cosme (Halong) razed through Northern Luzon, these storm signals were scaled back until the storm reached the Cagayan
-Batanes
area and the Pacific Ocean proper.
. Meanwhile, Mindoro
and Panay
islands were also affected as the storm-induced southwest monsoon
brought rains and floods to those areas. In particular, a ferry in Mindoro was stranded as Cosme (still a tropical depression at that time) passed close enough to Mindoro on the night of May 15. The Subic
-Olongapo area, one of the economic zones of the Philippines, experienced power outage
s as the storm got closer to Zambales on May 17. The province of Pangasinan, where the storm made its landfall, experienced waist-high floods and power outages as well. Even the city of Dagupan
(in Pangasinan) suffered the same fate with even stranded persons all over the city due to flooding. The town of Sta. Cruz
in Zambales had about 7,000 people homeless due to Cosme. Overall, the hardest hit were Pangasinan and Zambales provinces. Because the damage caused by the storm in Zambales is extensive even in infrastracture, repair was forced to be done on schools there as that time, classes are to resume in the next few weeks. The storm also increased the prices of vegetables in Metro Manila, as the latter gets most of its vegetables from Northern Luzon. Many places were flooded like what happened from Typhoon Ketsana.
According to the final report on Cosme (Halong) released by the National Disaster Coordinating Council, 61 were reported killed, 33 wounded and three were left missing. People affected by Cosme numbered 1,496,635 persons in 1,510 barangays in five provinces. Damages to property totaled to PHP 4.712 billion, of PHP 3.721 billion were agricultural losses and PHP 992 million were destructed infrastructure. Pangasinan was the most damaged province as indicated by the report.
to the WMO's Typhoon Committee for use from January 1, 2000. Halong was last used in the 2002 Pacific typhoon season
and is named after Halong Bay
, which is a UNESCO
World Heritage site in Vietnam. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
(PAGASA) assigned the name Cosme to the tropical storm. Cosme was last used in the 2004 Pacific typhoon season
to name Typhoon Sudal. This was the seventh time that a tropical cyclone had been named Cosme.
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
designation: 05W, PAGASA
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...
name: Cosme) was the fourth severe tropical storm named by the Japan Meteorological Agency
Japan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
(JMA) who are the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre
Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre
A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as part of the World Weather Watch.-Tropical...
for the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
also recognised Halong as the fifth tropical depression, the fourth tropical storm as well as the third typhoon of the 2008 Pacific typhoon season
2008 Pacific typhoon season
The 2008 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it runs year-round in 2008, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November...
.
Meteorological history
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. Early the next day, the Japan Meteorological Agency
Japan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
(JMA) and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...
(PAGASA) designated the disturbance as a tropical depression, with PAGASA assigning the local name of Cosme. However the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
(JTWC) did not issue a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming from a tropical disturbance that has been...
until later that day. The JTWC then designated the depression as 05W on May 15. On May 16 both the JMA and the JTWC upgraded the depression to a tropical storm with the JMA designating it as Tropical Storm Halong and assigning the international number of 0804. This was 12 hours after PAGASA had upgraded it to a tropical storm. During that day Halong kept intensifying and was designated as a severe tropical storm early the next day by the JMA as it reached its peak wind speeds of 60 knots (70 mph 115 km/h). The JTWC then upgraded Halong to a typhoon with peak wind speeds of 70 knots (80 mph 130 km/h)) which made Halong a Category one typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
.
Later on May 17, Halong made landfall on the Philippine region of Pangasinan
Pangasinan
Pangasinan is a province of the Republic of the Philippines. The provincial capital is Lingayen. Pangasinan is located on the west central and peripheral area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf, with the total land area being 5,368.82 square kilometers . According to the latest census,...
and travelled towards the northeast over Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
. While over land Halong weakened into a tropical storm with both the JTWC and the JMA downgrading Halong early the next day. Later that day after reaching the Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea
The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east and north of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 2 million mi² on the western part of the North Pacific Ocean...
, Halong started to restrengthen and intensified into a severe tropical storm. However it did not intensify any further and on May 19 weakened in to a tropical storm. Later that day, PAGASA issued their final advisory on Halong as it moved out of their area of responsibility. The JTWC then issued their last advisory on Halong as it had begun its extratropical transition. The JMA then reported that it had completed its extratropical transition and issued their final advisory on the remnant low of Halong. The remnants of Halong dissipated on May 24.
Preparations
Starting May 15, PAGASA issued Storm Warning Signals for various areas across the Philippines. At 1500 UTC that day Signal Number One was initially issued over northern PalawanPalawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
, Occidental Mindoro
Occidental Mindoro
Occidental Mindoro is a province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region in Luzon. "Home of the Indigenous Mangyans". Its capital is Mamburao and occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro, on the west by Apo East Pass, and on the south by the Mindoro Strait; Oriental Mindoro is...
and Lubang Island
Lubang Island
Lubang Island is the largest island in the Lubang Group of Islands, an archipelago which lies to the northwest of the northern end of Mindoro in the Philippines. The Lubang Islands are about southwest of Manila. There are seven islands in the group, The island is divided into two municipalities. ...
. At its maximum coverage (at 0930 UTC May 17), Storm Signal Number 3 was issued for Zambales
Zambales
Zambales is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Iba. Zambales borders Pangasinan to the north, Tarlac and Pampanga to the east, and Bataan to the south. The province lies between the South China Sea and the Zambales Mountains. With a land area of...
, Pangasinan
Pangasinan
Pangasinan is a province of the Republic of the Philippines. The provincial capital is Lingayen. Pangasinan is located on the west central and peripheral area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf, with the total land area being 5,368.82 square kilometers . According to the latest census,...
, La Union
La Unión
La Union or La Unión may refer to:-Colombia:*La Unión, Antioquia*La Unión, Nariño*La Unión, Sucre*La Unión, Valle del Cauca-Peru:*La Unión Province, Peru...
, Tarlac
Tarlac
Tarlac is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Luzon Island. Its capital is Tarlac City. Tarlac borders Pampanga to the south, Nueva Ecija to the east, Pangasinan to the north, and Zambales to the west...
, Benguet
Benguet
Benguet is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is La Trinidad and borders, clockwise from the south, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Mountain Province, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya....
and Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Vigan City, located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the provincial capital...
, Signal Number 2 was for Bataan
Bataan
Bataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north...
, Bulacan
Bulacan
Bulacan , officially called the Province of Bulacan or simply Bulacan Province, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region in the island of Luzon, north of Manila , and part of the Metro...
, Pampanga
Pampanga
Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...
, Nueva Viscaya, Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Palayan City...
, Quirino
Quirino
Quirino is a province of the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Cabarroguis and was named after Elpidio Quirino, the sixth President of the Philippines. The province borders Aurora to the southeast, Nueva Vizcaya to the west, and Isabela to the north...
, Ifugao
Ifugao
Ifugao is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Covering a total land area of 262,820 hectares, the province of Ifugao is located in a mountainous region characterized by rugged terrain, river valleys, and massive forests...
, Mt. Province, Kalinga
Kalinga
Kalinga is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Tabuk and borders Mountain Province to the south, Abra to the west, Isabela to the east, Cagayan to the northeast, and Apayao to the north...
, Abra
Abra province
Abra is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bangued, and it borders Ilocos Norte and Apayao on the north, Ilocos Sur and Mountain Province on the south, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur on the west, and Kalinga, and Apayao on the...
, Apayao
Apayao
Apayao is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its administrative capital is Luna and founding capital Kabugao. It borders Cagayan to the north and east, Abra and Ilocos Norte to the west, and Kalinga to the south...
and Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Norte is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Its capital is Laoag City and is located at the northwest corner of Luzon Island, bordering Cagayan and Apayao to the east, and Abra and Ilocos Sur to the south...
and Signal Number 1 was raised for Lubang Island
Lubang Island
Lubang Island is the largest island in the Lubang Group of Islands, an archipelago which lies to the northwest of the northern end of Mindoro in the Philippines. The Lubang Islands are about southwest of Manila. There are seven islands in the group, The island is divided into two municipalities. ...
, Batangas
Batangas
Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...
, Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
, Laguna, Rizal
Rizal
Rizal is a province located in the CALABARZON , just 16 kilometers east of Manila. The province was named after the country's national hero, José Rizal. Rizal Governor Casimiro A. Ynares III on June 17, 2008 announced the transfer of the Capitol from Pasig. Its P 270-million capitol building,...
, northern Quezon
Quezon
-History:Originally, what now forms Quezon was divided among the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, and Nueva Ecija. The area was first explored by Juan de Salcedo in 1571-1572, during his expedition from Laguna to Camarines provinces....
, Isabela
Isabela province
Isabela is the second largest province of the Philippines next to Palawan. It is located in the Cagayan Valley Region in Luzon. Its capital is Ilagan and borders, clockwise from the south, Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Kalinga, and Cagayan...
, Aurora
Aurora province
Aurora is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Baler and borders, clockwise from the south, the provinces of Quezon, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Isabela. To the east of Aurora is the Philippine Sea.Before 1979, Aurora was part of...
, Cagayan
Cagayan
Cagayan , the "Land of Smiling Beauty", is a province of the Philippines in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Tuguegarao City and is located at the northeastern corner of the island of Luzon. Cagayan also includes the Babuyan Islands to the north. The province borders Ilocos Norte...
, Calayan Island, Babuyan Group of Islands, Batanes
Batanes
The Province of Batanes , also called the Batanes Islands, is a Philippine province comprising ten islands that are located in the Luzon Strait between the islands of Luzon and Taiwan...
and Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
Further on as Cosme (Halong) razed through Northern Luzon, these storm signals were scaled back until the storm reached the Cagayan
Cagayan
Cagayan , the "Land of Smiling Beauty", is a province of the Philippines in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Tuguegarao City and is located at the northeastern corner of the island of Luzon. Cagayan also includes the Babuyan Islands to the north. The province borders Ilocos Norte...
-Batanes
Batanes
The Province of Batanes , also called the Batanes Islands, is a Philippine province comprising ten islands that are located in the Luzon Strait between the islands of Luzon and Taiwan...
area and the Pacific Ocean proper.
Philippines
In Luzon, the typhoon caused 58 deaths and $94 million (USD) in damage. The storm destroyed 43,365 houses and damaged 188,830 more. Most of the damages reported were in Northern LuzonLuzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
. Meanwhile, Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
and Panay
Panay
Panay may refer to*Panay Island*Panay *Panay, Capiz*Panay River*Panay Gulf* USS Panay *Panay incident...
islands were also affected as the storm-induced southwest monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
brought rains and floods to those areas. In particular, a ferry in Mindoro was stranded as Cosme (still a tropical depression at that time) passed close enough to Mindoro on the night of May 15. The Subic
Subic
Subic can mean any of the following:*House of Šubić, a noble clan from Dalmatia.*Subic Bay, in the Philippines.*Subic, Zambales, a municipality in the Philippines.*Subic Bay Freeport Zone , an economic free trade area in the Philippines....
-Olongapo area, one of the economic zones of the Philippines, experienced power outage
Power outage
A power outage is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area.There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network...
s as the storm got closer to Zambales on May 17. The province of Pangasinan, where the storm made its landfall, experienced waist-high floods and power outages as well. Even the city of Dagupan
Dagupan
The City of Dagupan is a 1st class city in the Philippines. It is an independent component city of the province of Pangasinan. According to the latest census, Dagupan City has a population of 149,554 people in 25,921 households. Located on Lingayen Gulf on the island of Luzon, Dagupan is the...
(in Pangasinan) suffered the same fate with even stranded persons all over the city due to flooding. The town of Sta. Cruz
Santa Cruz, Zambales
Santa Cruz is a 2nd class municipality located on the northern edge of the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 52,202 people in 9,754 households....
in Zambales had about 7,000 people homeless due to Cosme. Overall, the hardest hit were Pangasinan and Zambales provinces. Because the damage caused by the storm in Zambales is extensive even in infrastracture, repair was forced to be done on schools there as that time, classes are to resume in the next few weeks. The storm also increased the prices of vegetables in Metro Manila, as the latter gets most of its vegetables from Northern Luzon. Many places were flooded like what happened from Typhoon Ketsana.
According to the final report on Cosme (Halong) released by the National Disaster Coordinating Council, 61 were reported killed, 33 wounded and three were left missing. People affected by Cosme numbered 1,496,635 persons in 1,510 barangays in five provinces. Damages to property totaled to PHP 4.712 billion, of PHP 3.721 billion were agricultural losses and PHP 992 million were destructed infrastructure. Pangasinan was the most damaged province as indicated by the report.
Japan
The extratropical remnants of Halong brought heavy rains to parts of Japan, injuring one person.Naming
The name "Halong" was one of the 10 original names submitted by VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
to the WMO's Typhoon Committee for use from January 1, 2000. Halong was last used in the 2002 Pacific typhoon season
2002 Pacific typhoon season
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert was issued on July 19 for a Tropical Disturbance that was located east of the international Date Line. The Next day the Disturbance crossed the international date line and was classified as a Tropical Depression by the JMA. The JMA then upgraded the depression to...
and is named after Halong Bay
Halong Bay
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Van Don district. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes...
, which is a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage site in Vietnam. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is a Philippine national institution dedicated to provide flood and typhoon warnings, public weather forecasts and advisories, meteorological, astronomical, climatological, and other specialized information and...
(PAGASA) assigned the name Cosme to the tropical storm. Cosme was last used in the 2004 Pacific typhoon season
2004 Pacific typhoon season
The 2004 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 2004, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November...
to name Typhoon Sudal. This was the seventh time that a tropical cyclone had been named Cosme.
See also
- 2008 Pacific typhoon season2008 Pacific typhoon seasonThe 2008 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it runs year-round in 2008, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November...
- Timeline of the 2008 Pacific typhoon seasonTimeline of the 2008 Pacific typhoon seasonThis timeline documents all the storm formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, as well as dissipation during the 2008 Pacific typhoon season. The 2008 Pacific typhoon season officially started on January 1, 2008 and ended on January 1, 2009. The first tropical...