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Typhoon Yagi (2006)
Encyclopedia
Typhoon Yagi was an intense typhoon, the strongest of the 2006 Pacific typhoon season
, which reached the equivalence of Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
. Forming out of a tropical depression on September 16, Yagi quickly strengthened as it executed a slow clockwise loop over the open waters of the western Pacific Ocean
. On September 19, Yagi strengthened into a typhoon as a subtropical
ridge
steered the storm towards the west. Two days later, the storm reached its peak intensity with winds of 195 km/h (120 mph 10-minute winds) with a minimum pressure of 910 hPa
(mbar
). The typhoon gradually weakened as it recurved towards the northeast and was downgraded to a severe tropical storm on September 24 and became extratropical
the next day. The storm was last noted near the Aleutian Islands on September 27. The typhoon caused severe damage on the island of Chichijima but no injuries were reported as a result of the storm.
(JMA) began monitoring an area of convection
as a tropical depression about 1,270 km (790 mi) east-northeast of Guam
. The depression was located within an area of low to moderate wind shear
under an upper-level anticyclone
. Flaring convection was noted along the eastern portion of the developing system before the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
(JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
later that day. Early on September 17, the JTWC began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 16W. Located within a weak steering environment, the storm executed a clockwise loop while quickly strengthening. Several hours after the JTWC issued their first advisory, the JMA upgraded the system to a tropical storm and gave it the name Yagi; the name was contributed by Japan
, and is the Japanese word for "goat". Late on September 18, the JMA upgraded Yagi to a severe tropical storm while the JTWC classified the storm as a minimal typhoon.
Early on September 19, the JMA upgraded Yagi to a typhoon. After completing the loop, Yagi's track was influenced by a subtropical
ridge
located to the southeast of Japan. The typhoon continued to intensify and reached its peak intensity on September 21 with winds of 195 km/h (120 mph 10-minute winds) with a minimum pressure of 910 hPa
(mbar
), making it the strongest storm of the season according to the JMA. At the same time, the JTWC classified Yagi as a Category 5 super typhoon with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph 1-minute winds). On September 22, Yagi passed by the islands of Iwo Jima
and Chichijima as the storm recurved towards the northeast. With increasing wind shear, the typhoon began to weaken and also began to undergo an extratropical transition
. Late on September 24, the JTWC classified the storm as an extratropical cyclone and issued their final advisory. The JMA kept Yagi as a tropical system for another day as it weakened to a severe tropical storm. Early on September 25, they classified it as extratropical. The remnants of Yagi continued towards the northeast and crossed the International Date Line
on September 27. The storm was last noted near the Aleutian Islands.
on September 22, with the island being within the range of 95 km/h (60 mph) winds. No loss of life or injuries were related to Typhoon Yagi.
2006 Pacific typhoon season
The 2006 Pacific typhoon season had no official bounds; it ran year-round in 2006, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November...
, which reached the equivalence of Category 5 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...
. Forming out of a tropical depression on September 16, Yagi quickly strengthened as it executed a slow clockwise loop over the open waters of the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. On September 19, Yagi strengthened into a typhoon as a subtropical
Subtropical cyclone
A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of a tropical and an extratropical cyclone. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were unclear whether they should be characterized as tropical or extratropical cyclones. They were officially recognized by the National...
ridge
High pressure area
A high-pressure area is a region where the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the planet is greater than its surrounding environment. Winds within high-pressure areas flow outward due to the higher density air near their center and friction with land...
steered the storm towards the west. Two days later, the storm reached its peak intensity with winds of 195 km/h (120 mph 10-minute winds) with a minimum pressure of 910 hPa
Pascal (unit)
The pascal is the SI derived unit of pressure, internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus and tensile strength, named after the French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and philosopher Blaise Pascal. It is a measure of force per unit area, defined as one newton per square metre...
(mbar
Bar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
). The typhoon gradually weakened as it recurved towards the northeast and was downgraded to a severe tropical storm on September 24 and became extratropical
Extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scale low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth having neither tropical nor polar characteristics, and are connected with fronts and...
the next day. The storm was last noted near the Aleutian Islands on September 27. The typhoon caused severe damage on the island of Chichijima but no injuries were reported as a result of the storm.
Meteorological history
On September 16, the Japan Meteorological AgencyJapan 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) began monitoring an area of convection
Atmospheric convection
Atmospheric convection is the result of a parcel-environment instability, or temperature difference, layer in the atmosphere. Different lapse rates within dry and moist air lead to instability. Mixing of air during the day which expands the height of the planetary boundary layer leads to...
as a tropical depression about 1,270 km (790 mi) east-northeast of Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. The depression was located within an area of low to moderate wind shear
Wind shear
Wind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere...
under an upper-level anticyclone
Anticyclone
An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined by the United States' National Weather Service's glossary as "[a] large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere"...
. Flaring convection was noted along the eastern portion of the developing system before 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) issued 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...
later that day. Early on September 17, the JTWC began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 16W. Located within a weak steering environment, the storm executed a clockwise loop while quickly strengthening. Several hours after the JTWC issued their first advisory, the JMA upgraded the system to a tropical storm and gave it the name Yagi; the name was contributed by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and is the Japanese word for "goat". Late on September 18, the JMA upgraded Yagi to a severe tropical storm while the JTWC classified the storm as a minimal typhoon.
Early on September 19, the JMA upgraded Yagi to a typhoon. After completing the loop, Yagi's track was influenced by a subtropical
Subtropical cyclone
A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of a tropical and an extratropical cyclone. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were unclear whether they should be characterized as tropical or extratropical cyclones. They were officially recognized by the National...
ridge
High pressure area
A high-pressure area is a region where the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the planet is greater than its surrounding environment. Winds within high-pressure areas flow outward due to the higher density air near their center and friction with land...
located to the southeast of Japan. The typhoon continued to intensify and reached its peak intensity on September 21 with winds of 195 km/h (120 mph 10-minute winds) with a minimum pressure of 910 hPa
Pascal (unit)
The pascal is the SI derived unit of pressure, internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus and tensile strength, named after the French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and philosopher Blaise Pascal. It is a measure of force per unit area, defined as one newton per square metre...
(mbar
Bar (unit)
The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
), making it the strongest storm of the season according to the JMA. At the same time, the JTWC classified Yagi as a Category 5 super typhoon with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph 1-minute winds). On September 22, Yagi passed by the islands of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
and Chichijima as the storm recurved towards the northeast. With increasing wind shear, the typhoon began to weaken and also began to undergo an extratropical transition
Extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scale low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth having neither tropical nor polar characteristics, and are connected with fronts and...
. Late on September 24, the JTWC classified the storm as an extratropical cyclone and issued their final advisory. The JMA kept Yagi as a tropical system for another day as it weakened to a severe tropical storm. Early on September 25, they classified it as extratropical. The remnants of Yagi continued towards the northeast and crossed the International Date Line
International Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
on September 27. The storm was last noted near the Aleutian Islands.
Preparations and impact
On September 23, Typhoon Yagi passed directly over the resort island of Chichijima which has a population of about 2,000. The cyclone brought winds up to 210 km/h (130 mph), making it the strongest typhoon in 20 years to hit the island. About 1,000 of the 1,270 homes were without power during the height of the storm. About 150 residents evacuated to local shelters during the storm to escape the high winds and heavy rains. At least one structure was destroyed and numerous others sustained damage. The storm reportedly produced torrential rains, but there are no known measurements. Several homes had their roofs blown off and windows broken. Street lamps were knocked down by the strong winds produced by Yagi. Ferry service for several ports was cancelled for 29 days following the typhoon. Fallen trees knocked down power lines and cut communications. Some homes were reported to have lost water pressure also. The storm passed close to Iwo JimaIwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
on September 22, with the island being within the range of 95 km/h (60 mph) winds. No loss of life or injuries were related to Typhoon Yagi.
See also
- 2006 Pacific typhoon season2006 Pacific typhoon seasonThe 2006 Pacific typhoon season had no official bounds; it ran year-round in 2006, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November...
- Timeline of the 2006 Pacific typhoon seasonTimeline of the 2006 Pacific typhoon seasonThe 2006 Pacific typhoon season had no official bounds; it ran year-round in 2006, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December...