Typhoon Soulik (2018)

Typhoon Soulik was an unusually large, and the deadliest typhoon to strike the Korean Peninsula as a tropical system since Khanun in 2012. Soulik formed from an area of low pressure on August 15, and was the twenty-ninth tropical depression, twentieth tropical storm, tenth severe tropical storm, and sixth typhoon of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season.

Meteorological history

On August 14 at 06:00 UTC, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began monitoring an area of convection approximately southeast of Andersen Air Force Base, assessing its development potential in the next day as low. The system was located in favorable conditions for development, though its low-level circulation remained elongated. Sea surface temperatures in the area were around . Convective bands began to form around the system, though they remained shallow; by 15:00 UTC, the JTWC upgraded its development potential in the next day to medium. Convection began to deepen and wrap into a consolidating low-level circulation, and at 22:30 UTC, the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the system.

On August 15 at 06:00 UTC, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) began monitoring a tropical depression in the Philippine Sea. The depression continued north-northwestward, and at 15:00 UTC, the JTWC also upgraded the system to a tropical depression as it was located approximately south-southwest of Hagatna, giving it the designation 22W. Deep convection was located southeast of a broad and elongated low-level circulation. Conditions remained favorable for further development as the depression began consolidating despite an exposed low-level circulation, and on August 16 at 00:00 UTC, the JMA upgraded the depression to a tropical storm, giving it the name ''Soulik''. Convective banding began to wrap into the still-exposed low-level circulation, and at 03:00 UTC, the JTWC also upgraded Soulik to a tropical storm. Soulik then organized rapidly as its low-level circulation became more defined, and at 18:00 UTC, the JMA further upgraded Soulik to a severe tropical storm. By 21:00 UTC, a low-level eye feature appeared as its structure began to rapidly improve, and on August 17 at 03:00 UTC, the JTWC upgraded Soulik to a typhoon. At 12:00 UTC, the JMA also upgraded Soulik to a typhoon as it was steered by a mid-level subtropical high-pressure area.

Soulik then rapidly intensified into a severe typhoon, and on the next day, Soulik reached its peak intensity, with winds of , and remained that intensity for several days. It also began to display some annular characteristics. After passing the Ryukyu Islands early on 22 August, the storm gradually weakened due to low sea-surface temperatures. On August 23, Soulik made landfall over Haenam County, South Jeolla Province of South Korea at around 23:00  KST (14:00 UTC).

Impact

Economic loss in Northeast China were counted to be CN¥550 million (US$79.9 million). Flooding in North Korea triggered by Soulik killed 86 people.

Notes

See also

* Weather of 2018
*Tropical cyclones in 2018
* Other systems named Soulik
*Typhoon Rusa (2002) – Another typhoon that killed over 200 people in the Korean Peninsula
* Typhoon Kompasu (2010) – Another typhoon took a similar track
* Tropical Storm Khanun (2012)
* Typhoon Haishen (2020)

References

External links

General Information
of Typhoon Soulik (1819) from Digital Typhoon

JMA Best Track Data
of Typhoon Soulik (1819) (in Japanese)

JMA Best Track (Graphics)
of Typhoon Soulik (1819)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soulik (2018)
Tropical cyclones in 2018