Typhoon Olive, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Atang, was a powerful tropical cyclone which affected the Philippines and Taiwan during April 1978. The second named storm and first typhoon of the

1978 Pacific typhoon season The 1978 Pacific typhoon season was a very active season that produced 31 tropical storms, 16 typhoons and one intense typhoon. It ran year-round in 1978, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and ...

, Olive developed from a low-pressure area on April 15. One week later, it would peak as a minimal typhoon with 10-minute sustained winds of 90 mph. After it, it would steadily weaken, being last noted on April 26

Meteorological history

In April 1978, the near-equatorial trough steadily tracked northwards, making

cyclogenesis Cyclogenesis is the development or strengthening of Cyclonic rotation, cyclonic circulation in the atmosphere (a low-pressure area). Cyclogenesis is an umbrella term for at least three different processes, all of which result in the development of ...

more likely to occur. On 12:00 UTC on April 11, 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 to monitor a surface circulation which had formed within the trough. Five days later, the JTWC issued their first warning on the system as ''Tropical Depression 02W'' as the nascent system began coalescing. On April 18, the system entered the

Philippine Area of Responsibility The Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) is an area in the Northwestern Pacific where PAGASA, the Philippines' national meteorological agency, monitors weather occurrences. Significant weather disturbances, specifically typhoons that enter o ...

, resulting in the

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (, abbreviated as PAGASA , which means "hope" as in the Tagalog word ''pag-asa'') is the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) agency of the P ...

(PAGASA) naming the system ''Atang''. Later that day, the system intensified into a tropical storm, resulting in it being named Olive. Soon after, Olive crossed the

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf, also known simply as the Leyte, is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the ...

and the

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, which hindered intensification.1978 TCR
– Joint Typhoon Warning Center (Retrieved 1/17/24) Olive would steadily intensify after it entered the South China Sea on April 20, being in an environment with good outflow aloft and warm

Sea surface temperatures Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the ocean temperature, temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea ...

, resulting in it intensifying into a typhoon on 6:00 UTC on April 22. Olive would recurve due to a break in the subtropical ridge, peaking with sustained winds of the next day. Olive would accelerate to the east-northeast, steadily weakening due to intruding cool and dry air, resulting in the system becoming extratropical early on April 26.

Preparations and impacts

As Olive passed the Philippines, it would affect nearly 370,000 people in the nation, leaving 3,500 homeless. The MV Leyte, a lengthened ship of the Compania Maritima was caught in it, being wrecked in the southwestern portion of

Sibuyan Island Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of and has a total population of 62,815, as of the 2020 census. The island ...

as she was on a Manila-Cebu voyage. The

Hong Kong Observatory The Hong Kong Observatory is a weather forecast agency of the government of Hong Kong. The Observatory forecasts the weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards. It also monitors and makes assessments on radiation levels in Hong ...

would hoist its Stand-By Signal No. 1 on April 24 as Olive neared the island but would lower it hours later as it left the area. Despite not affecting the island in any way, Olive would bring some light storm surges to the island. In total, 66 people died, mainly in the Philippines.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olive (1978) 1978 disasters 1978 Pacific typhoon season Retired Pacific typhoons Typhoons in the Philippines