Tropical Storm Linfa (2009)
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Severe Tropical Storm Linfa was the second
named storm Tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones are named by various warning centers to simplify communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings. The names are intended to reduce confusion in the ...
to develop in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
during the
2009 Pacific typhoon season The 2009 Pacific typhoon season was a below average season that spawned only 22 named storms, 13 typhoons, and five super typhoons. Despite this, it was a very deadly season, with the Philippines having experienced its deadliest season in decad ...
. It is the seventh depression and third typhoon of the season. Forming out of an
area of low pressure In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclem ...
on June 14, the storm briefly attained tropical depression status before degenerating. By June 17 the system regenerated in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
. Slowly tracking northward, the storm intensified, attaining severe tropical storm status on June 19 and peaking in intensity the following day. On June 21, Linfa made landfall in
Fujian Province Fujian is a province in southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefecture city by population is Qua ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
as a tropical storm before weakening to a tropical depression. In
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, outer bands of the storm produced significant amounts of rain over southeastern areas of the island. Along the western coast,
rip currents A rip current (or just rip) is a specific type of water current that can occur near beaches where waves break. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water that moves directly away from the shore by cutting through the lines of bre ...
resulted in the drowning of one person. Six hikers also were reported to be missing. In China, torrential rains triggered flooding that destroyed 100 homes, killed one person and left six others missing. In all, seven people were killed by Linfa, with damages in
mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
estimated at ¥641 million (US$93.8 million) and agricultural losses in Taiwan reached NT$400 million (US$12.1 million).


Meteorological history

On June 10, 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 ...
(JTWC) began monitoring a persistent area of
convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...
situated about 140 kilometres (85 mi) southeast of
Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...
. Satellite imagery depicted an elongated low-level circulation with deep convection centered along the southwestern portion of the system. Strong
wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...
, which normally inhibits cyclonic development, provided energy for further convective development around the system. Tracking in a general northwestward direction, the low gradually developed northward
outflow Outflow may refer to: *Capital outflow, the capital leaving a particular economy *Bipolar outflow, in astronomy, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star * Outflow (hydrology), the discharge of a lake or other reservoir system *Outflow ...
due to a
tropical upper tropospheric trough A tropical upper tropospheric trough (TUTT), also known as the mid-oceanic trough, is a trough situated in the upper-level (at about 200 hPa) tropics. Its formation is usually caused by the intrusion of energy and wind from the mid-latitudes into ...
(TUTT) located north of the disturbance. Following further development, the
Japan Meteorological Agency The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA; ''気象庁, Kishō-chō'') is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dedicated to the Scientific, scientific observation and research of natural phenomena. Headquartered ...
declared the system as a tropical depression at 0600 
UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
on June 14. Later on June 14, the JTWC 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 ...
(TCFA) for the depression. Deep convection consolidated around the center of circulation and convective banding features developed along the periphery of the system. Several hours later, the TCFA was canceled as the system rapidly degenerated, with convection mostly dissipating and an exposed low. Outflow significantly deteriorated as the system detached itself from the TUTT. By this time, the JMA had ceased advisories on the depression. Two days later, after tracking across
Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
, the system began to regenerate. Convection redeveloped around the low and outflow was reestablished to the south. Early on June 17, the JTWC issued a second TCFA as the system continued to organize. By this time the system was nearly stationary and at 0600 UTC, the JMA declared that the low had developed into a tropical depression. Several hours later, the JTWC designated the system as Tropical Depression 03W while the storm was situated about 705 km (440 mi) south-southwest of
Kaohsiung, Taiwan Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...
. Little movement took place for the first few days of the storm's existence as weak steering currents were in place over the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
. Following further development of the depression, the JTWC upgraded it to a tropical storm late on June 17. At 0600 UTC on June 18, the JMA classified the system as a tropical storm and gave it the name ''Linfa''. Limited poleward outflow hindered intensification for the remainder of June 18. By this time, the storm began to increase in forward motion due to a strengthening
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
located east of Taiwan and a mid-latitude
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...
to the west. Around 1200 UTC the following day, Linfa further intensified into a severe tropical storm. A microwave satellite image of the storm depicted an eye-feature surrounded by deep convection. Interacting with a nearby upper-level low, poleward outflow significantly improved late on June 19, fueling further strengthening. Slowly tracking in a general northward direction, Linfa continued to organize and by June 20, the JTWC upgraded Linfa to a
typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...
. A small, ragged eye appeared on visible satellite images by this time and several hours later, the storm reached its peak intensity just below typhoon-status according to the JMA. Maximum sustained winds peaked at 110 km/h (70 mph 10-minute winds) and a
barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or 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 1,013.2 ...
of 975 hPa (
mbar The bar is a metric unit of pressure defined as 100,000  Pa (100 kPa), though not part of the International System of Units (SI). A pressure of 1 bar is slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea ...
). Later on June 20, convection near the center of circulation began to decrease–an indication of weakening–and the eye was no longer visible. Upper-level wind shear rapidly increased to 55 km/h (35 mph), preventing re-intensification of the cyclone. Taking a more northward track than anticipated, Linfa began to interact with land and was downgraded to a tropical storm by the JTWC on June 21. Around 1230 UTC, the storm made landfall in southern Fujian as a tropical storm with winds of 85 km/h (50 mph 10-minute winds). Deep convection rapidly dissipated shortly thereafter due to interaction with land. Several hours later, the JTWC downgraded Linfa to a tropical depression. The following day, the JMA also downgraded Linfa to a tropical depression as the storm moved away from the Chinese coastline. The system later dissipated just offshore; a circulation was no longer evident on satellite imagery.


Preparations and impact

Although Linfa was not forecast to directly impact the Philippines, the outer effects of the storm were anticipated to produce increased rainfall and large swells along western facing coastlines. By June 20, the
Central Weather Bureau The Central Weather Administration (CWA; ) is the government meteorological research and forecasting institution of Taiwan (the Republic of China). In addition to meteorology, the Central Weather Administration also makes astronomical observation ...
issued extremely heavy rain warnings, indicating 24-hour rainfall totals in excess of were anticipated, for most of Taiwan. Beaches throughout Taiwan were closed due to rough seas and local officials inspected all public shelters to ensure they were stocked and prepared to provide for evacuees. Later that day, a level 3 emergency was declared for eastern
Guangdong Province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
and southern
Fujian Province Fujian is a province in southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefecture city by population is Qua ...
. The local governments in the provinces enacted their emergency response plans following this declaration. On June 21, officials in China closed
Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...
port and stated that it would resume operations once the storm passed. Later that day 33,000 vessels sought refuge at port. Following the issuance of a land warning, government offices and schools were closed throughout the island. Officials sent 10 million text messages to residents throughout Fujian Province to warn them about the approaching storm. In
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, public warning signal number one was raised for nearly 24 hours as Linfa briefly threatened the city on June 20. Officials also evacuated roughly 160,000 people from coastal areas in Fujian. A total of 167 flights to and from Taiwan were canceled or delayed due to the storm. On June 21, large swells of up to caused a 498-tonne oil tanker, the ''Colombo Queen'', to run aground in southern Taiwan. Rescue crews were unable to reach the ship as it was still in the storm. Although no fuel was reported to have leaked, the ship struck a
coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...
, damaging the coral. Once Linfa passed, rescuers were able to reach the nine crew members on the ship. Officials estimated that it would take over a week to remove all of fuel from the tanker. In Taiwan, two people were hit by fallen trees and two monks were struck by a wall that collapsed during a ceremony. Rip currents in Taiwan resulted in one death after a boy went into the water unwatched. Six hikers also went missing. Power to all 505 residences of
Chiangchun Jiangjun District () is a rural district of about 18,745 residents in Tainan, Taiwan. Its Chinese name translates to "general officer". History After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, Jiangjun was organized ...
was also lost during the storm. Average amounts of of rain were recorded across southeastern parts of Taiwan on June 21. The highest total was in Taitung. Further rainfall of fell on June 22, pushing totals over in isolated areas along southeastern areas. In
Kinmen County Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), only east from the city of Xiamen in Fujian, located at the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, from which ...
, 50 trees were downed, six billboards were destroyed and two homes lost their roofs. By June 22, power companies reported that 2,834 residents had lost power in Wuqiu Township for several hours. Severe damage was reported in the agricultural sector in Taiwan, leaving NT$400 million (US$12.1 million) in losses. In mainland China, Linfa produced torrential rains, peaking at and triggering severe flooding. Heavy rains also impacted
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, where more than fell over a three-day span. Following a landslide, one person was killed. Flood waters destroyed 100 homes and inundated 10,000 others as well as an estimated 32,000 hectares of farmland in Fujian Province. In Taoyuan Town, a total of of rain fell within one hour, breaking a 200-year-old record in the town. In
Meizhou Meizhou ( zh, t=梅州, Hakka Chinese: Mòichû) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, China. It has an area of , and a population of 3,873,239 as of the 2020 census. It comprises Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xing ...
, Guongdong Province, flash flooding resulted in five additional fatalities after of rain fell within a nine-hour span. This rainfall was higher than any recorded amount in the past 100 years in the region. A total of 362 homes were destroyed in the town and infrastructure was severely damaged. Additionally, an estimated 20 million people were affected by the storm. Damages from Linfa in China amounted to ¥641 million ($93.8 million).


See also

* Other tropical cyclones named Linfa *
Typhoons in the Philippines The Philippines is a typhoon-prone country, with approximately twenty tropical cyclones entering its area of responsibility per year. Locally known generally as (),Glossary of Meteorology. These 20 Tropical Cyclones can vary from Tropical ...
* Tropical Storm Hagibis (2014)


References


External links


JMA General Information
of Severe Tropical Storm Linfa (0903) from Digital Typhoon
JMA Best Track Data
of Severe Tropical Storm Linfa (0903)
JTWC Best Track Data
of Typhoon 03W (Linfa)
03W.LINFA
from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory {{DEFAULTSORT:Linfa (2009) Typhoons in China Typhoons in Taiwan 2009 Pacific typhoon season 2009 in Taiwan Western Pacific severe tropical storms Typhoons in Hong Kong Linfa