Tropical Depression Winnie was a weak, but catastrophic

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

that killed nearly 1,600 people after triggering widespread flooding in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It was the second deadliest tropical cyclone of 2004 worldwide, only surpassed by

Hurricane Jeanne Hurricane Jeanne was a Category 3 hurricane that struck the Caribbean and the Eastern United States in September 2004. It was the deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Mitch in 1998. It was the tenth named storm, the seventh hurric ...

. A depression, which formed east of Samar, brought heavy rain to areas where it passed through, and affecting many areas, owing to Winnie’s large cloudiness.

Meteorological history

Tropical Depression Winnie was first identified by the

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration Pagasa may refer to: * ''Pagasa'' (genus), an insect genus in the family Nabidae *PAGASA, an acronym for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration *"May Pagasa", a pen-name of José Rizal *Pagasa, alternate s ...

on November 27 as a tropical depression east of the

. A poorly organized cyclone, the

Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...

briefly issued a

Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone formi ...

on November 29. Tracking west-northwestward, Winnie made

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

in southern

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, ...

. Upon moving over land, the depression attained its peak intensity with winds of 55 km/h (35 mph) and a

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibar ...

of 1000 mbar (hPa; 29.53 inHg). Once over land, the system began to weaken before entering the

West Philippine Sea West Philippine Sea ( fil, Karagatang Kanlurang Pilipinas; abbreviated as WPS) is the official designation by the government of the Philippines to the parts of the South China Sea that are included in the country's exclusive economic zone. The ...

. Once over water, Winnie turned northwest, moving along the western Luzon coastline throughout November 29. Early on the following day, advisories on the tropical depression ceased. Winnie was last noted off the northwestern coast of Luzon, later that day.

Impact

Although a weak tropical cyclone, Tropical Depression Winnie brought torrential rainfall to much of the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, i ...

and Luzon. Initial estimates stated that at least 300 people were killed by the storm. However, over time, it was discovered that at least 842 people perished and 751 others were missing, a total of 1,593 people. Damage from the depression was estimated at 678.7 million

Philippine peso The Philippine peso, also referred to by its Tagalog name ''piso'' (Philippine English: , , plural pesos; tl, piso ; sign: ₱; code: PHP), is the official currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 ''sentimo'', also called ...

s (US$14.6 million).http://wb.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=167&Itemid=176&limit=1&limitstart=23

Aftermath

Not long after Winnie devastated the central Philippines, the country was struck by another, more powerful tropical cyclone.

Typhoon Nanmadol The name Nanmadol has been used to name four tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The name was contributed by Micronesia and refers to the Nan Madol archaeological site on Pohnpei. * Typhoon Nanmadol (2004) (T0427, 30W, Yoyong) � ...

worsened the situation caused by Winnie and killed another 77 people.

Retirement

Due to the extreme death toll caused by the storm in the Philippines, the name ''Winnie'' was later retired. The name was replaced with ''Warren''.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winnie (2004) Western Pacific tropical depressions 2004 disasters in the Philippines Winnie Typhoons in the Philippines Retired Philippine typhoon names Winnie