Typhoon Vanessa, known in the

Philippines 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 ...

as Super Typhoon Toyang, was the strongest tropical cyclone of the

1984 Pacific typhoon season The 1984 Pacific typhoon season had the second-latest start in the basin on record, only behind the previous year, 1983 Pacific typhoon season, 1983, by one day. Despite this, it was above average in terms of named storms and featured many inte ...

and one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record. It was the twenty-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 ...

, twelfth

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 ...

, and first super typhoon of the 1984 season.

Meteorological history

A low pressure area developed from a near equatorial trough southeast of Ponape on October 20, moving northwest until being well north of the island as it slowly developed. The disturbance strengthened into a tropical depression on October 22 and a tropical storm ( receiving the name ''Vanessa'' ) on October 23. The next day, Vanessa strengthened into a minimal typhoon. Moving west-northwest, Vanessa began to explosively intensify on October 25, becoming a super typhoon two days later. Super Typhoon Vanessa continued to intensify throughout the day, reaching its peak intensity with

maximum sustained wind The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone is a common indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, it is found within the eyewall at a certain distance from the center, known as the radius of ma ...

speeds of well west of the

. At its peak, it had a pressure of 880 mb, which makes it tied as the seventh most intense tropical cyclone on record, behind Ida of 1958 and only 10 millibars higher than the record-setting

Typhoon Tip Typhoon Tip, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Warling, was the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded. The forty-third tropical depression, nineteenth tropical storm, twelfth typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 1 ...

of 1979. Vanessa's central pressure had fallen at a near-record pace of 100 mb in 48 hours. The intense cyclone recurved to the northeast on October 27 and 28 as a cold front approached from the northwest. Vanessa slowly weakened and began to merge with the frontal boundary, becoming a storm-force

extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...

late on October 30 before being absorbed by the front later that day.

Impact

As a minimal typhoon, Vanessa moved about south of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, where winds gusted to on

Nimitz Hill Nimitz Hill may refer to: * Nimitz Hill (geographic feature), a hill in Asan, Guam surrounded by the Nimitz Hill Annex census-designated place * Nimitz Hill (CDP), a census-designated place in Piti, Guam located adjacent to the Nimitz Hill Annex CDP ...

. Damage on the island totaled US$1.7 million (1984 dollars, US$4.98 million in 2023), mainly to the banana crop. Though the storm did not directly impact the Philippines, its outer bands triggered flooding that killed 63 people.

References

External links

Digital Typhoon : Typhoon 198422 (VANESSA)
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National Institute of Informatics The is a Japanese research institute located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. NII was established in April 2000 for the purpose of advancing the study of Informatics (academic field), informatics. This institute also works on creatin ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanessa (1984) 1984 Pacific typhoon season