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Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary December 2008
[Summaries and Track Data] [Prepared by Gary Padgett]

                   MONTHLY GLOBAL TROPICAL CYCLONE SUMMARY

                               DECEMBER, 2008

  (For general comments about the nature of these summaries, as well as
  information on how to download the tabular cyclone track files, see
  the Author's Note at the end of this summary.)

  *************************************************************************

                            DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

  --> Finally, after three months, a typhoon develops
  --> Some more Indian Ocean activity, both north and south

  *************************************************************************

                     WIKIPEDIA TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORTS

     Short reports with satellite pictures and small-scale maps for all 
  tropical cyclones may be found at the following links:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Atlantic_hurricane_season>

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Pacific_hurricane_season>

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Pacific_typhoon_season>

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_North_Indian_cyclone_season>

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008-09_Southern_Hemisphere_tropical_cyclone_season>

  For some storms more detailed reports have been prepared.  In those cases
  I will include the specific links in the reports for the applicable
  tropical cyclones.

  *************************************************************************

                   !!!!!!!!!!  EXTRA FEATURE  !!!!!!!!!!

                A REVIEW OF THE 2008 TROPICAL CYCLONE SEASON

                        FOR THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE


     Following is a tabular summary of all the tropical depressions,
  tropical storms, hurricanes, and typhoons which occurred in the
  Northern Hemisphere between 1 January and 31 December 2008, as
  reported in the Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summaries prepared
  by the author.

    (1) Number - this is the sequential cyclone number assigned by either
                 TPC/NHC, CPHC in Honolulu, or JTWC.  If neither of these
                 agencies issued any warnings, no number will be given.

    (2) Name - the name (if any) assigned by either TPC/NHC, CPHC, IMD,
               or JMA (and PAGASA for Western North Pacific systems in 
               their area of warning responsibility).

    (3) Dates - range of dates for which tracking information for the 
                cyclone is available in the Global Tropical Cyclone
                Tracks files prepared by the author.

    (4) Pressure - Lowest central pressure (either estimated or recorded)
                   during the lifetime of the cyclone.  For Atlantic and
                   Northeastern Pacific systems these will be the values
                   reported in operational advisories from TPC/NHC or
                   CPHC.  For Northwest Pacific systems the central
                   pressure estimates are taken from advisories issued by
                   the Japanese Meteorological Agency.  An asterisk (*)
                   following the pressure indicates the reading was an
                   actual measured pressure normally obtained by a drop-
                   sonde released during an aerial reconnaissance
                   flight.    Central pressure is given in millibars,
                   which is numerically equivalent to hectopascals.

    (5) MSW - maximum 1-minute average sustained windspeed in knots.
              For the Northwestern Pacific and North Indian Ocean
              basins, these will be the highest value assigned
              operationally by JTWC.  For the Atlantic and Northeastern
              Pacific basins, the MSW values are taken from the
              official tropical cyclone reports prepared by the
              TPC/NHC Hurricane Specialists and which are available
              on TPC/NHC's website: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov> .

    (6) Basins - tropical cyclone basins where the cyclone tracked during
                 its life:

                 ATL - North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea
                 NEP - North Pacific east of Longitude 180
                 NWP - North Pacific west of Longitude 180
                       (including South China Sea)
                 NIO - Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea

     For tropical systems in the NWP basin, two additional columns of
  information are given:

     (1) The tropical storm serial number assigned by the Japanese
         Meteorological Agency to tropical depressions which are deemed
         to have reached tropical storm intensity.  This does not always
         agree with JTWC's assessment.

     (2) An estimate of the maximum 10-minute average sustained wind.
         The value given represents the highest 10-min avg MSW assigned
         by any agency.  If from any warning center other than JMA, a
         numbered note below identifies which center's value is given.

     A number in parentheses (e.g. (1) ) following an entry refers to
  a note following the entries for the given basin.   A separate table
  is given for each of the four Northern Hemisphere basins.

  =========================================================================

                                ATLANTIC BASIN

  NUM  NAME          DATES           CENT PRS   MSW               BASIN
                                       (mb)    (kts)
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------

  01   Arthur        31 May-02 Jun     1004 *    40                ATL
  02   Bertha        03-20 Jul          952     110                ATL
  03   Cristobal     19-24 Jul          998 *    55                ATL
  04   Dolly         20-28 Jul          963 *    85                ATL
  05   Edouard       03-07 Aug          996 *    55                ATL
  06   Fay           15-28 Aug          986 *    60                ATL
  07   Gustav        25 Aug-04 Sep      941 *   130                ATL
  08   Hanna         28 Aug-12 Sep      977 *    75                ATL
  09   Ike           01-15 Sep          935     125                ATL
  10   Josephine     02-06 Sep          994      55                ATL
  --   -----         23-26 Sep          990      55                ATL (1)
  11   Kyle          25-29 Sep          984      75                ATL
  12   Laura         26 Sep-05 Oct      994      50                ATL (2)
  13   Marco         06-08 Oct          998 *    55                ATL
  14   Nana          12-14 Oct         1004      35                ATL
  15   Omar          13-21 Oct          958 *   115                ATL
  16   -----         14-16 Oct         1004      25                ATL
  17   Paloma        05-10 Nov          944 *   125                ATL 

  NOTES:

  (1) System was a frontal hybrid which developed pronounced subtropical
      cyclone characteristics before moving onshore in the Carolinas.
      Convection was quite well-organized but surface data showed the LOW
      to still have a frontal structure.  In its earlier stages, as an
      extratropical storm, the system had produced hurricane-force winds.

  (2) This system was named as a subtropical storm and later acquired
      tropical cyclone characteristics.

  =========================================================================

                           NORTHEAST PACFICIC BASIN

  NUM  NAME          DATES           CENT PRS   MSW               BASIN
                                       (mb)    (kts)
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------

  01E  Alma          29-31 May          994      55                NEP
  02E  Boris         27 Jun-04 Jul      985      70                NEP
  03E  Cristina      27 Jun-01 Jul     1000      45                NEP
  04E  Douglas       02-04 Jul         1003      35                NEP
  05E  -----         05-07 Jul         1005      30                NEP
  06E  Elida         12-19 Jul          970      90                NEP
  07E  Fausto        16-22 Jul          977      80                NEP
  08E  Genevieve     21-27 Jul          987      65                NEP
  09E  Hernan        06-13 Aug          956     105                NEP
  01C  Kika          07-12 Aug         1007      35                NEP
  10E  Iselle        13-17 Aug          999      45                NEP
  11E  Julio         23-26 Aug          998      45                NEP
  12E  Karina        02-03 Sep         1000      35                NEP
  13E  Lowell        07-12 Sep          998      45                NEP
  14E  Marie         01-06 Oct          984      70                NEP
  15E  Norbert       04-12 Oct          945     115                NEP
  16E  Odile         08-12 Oct          997      50                NEP
  17E  -----         23-24 Oct         1008      30                NEP
  18E  Polo          02-05 Nov         1003      40                NEP

  =========================================================================

                           NORTHWEST PACFICIC BASIN

  JTWC    NAME(S)      JMA     DATES         CENT    MSW   MSW    BASIN
  NUM                TROP STM                PRS    1-MIN 10-MIN
                       NUM                   (mb)   (kts) (kts)
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------

  01W  -----           ----  13-18 Jan       1004     35    30     NWP
  02W  Neoguri/Ambo    0801  13-19 Apr        960     95    80     NWP
  03W  Rammasun/ (1)   0802  06-13 May        915    135   105     NWP
  04W  Matmo/Dindo     0803  14-17 May        994     40    45     NWP
  05W  Halong/Cosme    0804  13-23 May        975     70    60     NWP
  06W  Nakri/Enteng    0805  26 May-09 Jun    930    125   105     NWP
  07W  Fengshen/Frank  0806  17-27 Jun        945     95    90     NWP
  ---  Gener           ----  04-07 Jul       1000     --    30     NWP (2)
  08W  Kalmaegi/Helen  0807  12-21 Jul        960     90    75     NWP
  ---  -----           ----  13-15 Jul       1004     --    30     NWP (3)
  09W  Fung-wong/Igme  0808  23-30 Jul        960     95    85     NWP
  10W  Kammuri/Julian  0809  03-08 Aug        975     50    50     NWP
  ---  Phanfone        0810  09-11 Aug        995     --    40     NWP (4)
  11W  -----           ----  12-15 Aug       1000     30    25     NWP
  12W  Vongfong        0811  14-18 Aug        992     50    40     NWP
  13W  Nuri/Karen      0812  17-23 Aug        955     95    75     NWP
  14W  Lawin           ----  25-28 Aug       1000     30    30     NWP (2)
  15W  Sinlaku/Marce   0813  08-22 Sep        935    125    90     NWP
  16W  -----           ----  09-12 Sep       1002     35    30     NWP
  17W  -----           ----  13-17 Sep       1010     30    25     NWP
  18W  Hagupit/Nina    0814  17-25 Sep        935    120    90     NWP
  19W  Jangmi/Ofel     0815  23 Sep-02 Oct    901 *  145   115     NWP
  20W  Mekkhala        0816  27-30 Sep        980     55    50     NWP
  21W  Higos/Pablo     0817  29 Sep-06 Oct    998     45    40     NWP
  22W  -----           ----  13-15 Oct       1006     35    30     NWP
  23W  Bavi            0818  18-25 Oct        992     45    45     NWP
  24W  Maysak/ (5)     0819  06-14 Nov        985     60    50     NWP
  25W  Haishen         0820  15-21 Nov       1006     40    35     NWP
  26W  Noul/Tonyo      0821  15-18 Nov        996     40    40     NWP
  27W  Dolphin/Ulysses 0822  02-19 Dec        970     90    65     NWP

  NOTES:

  (1) The name assigned to Rammasun by PAGASA was Butchoy.

  (2) This system was named by PAGASA.

  (3) Classified as a tropical depression by JMA only.

  (4) This system was treated as a tropical cyclone by JMA only.

  (5) Two PAGASA names were applied to various stages in the life of this
      system: Quinta and Siony.

  =========================================================================

                           NORTH INDIAN OCEAN BASIN

  NUM  NAME                     DATES        CENT PRS   MSW       BASIN
                                               (mb)    (kts)
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------

  01B  Nargis                 27 Apr-03 May     ---     115        NIO
  ---  -----                  05-07 Jun         ---      30        NIO
  02B  -----                  15-19 Sep         993      40        NIO
  03B  -----                  19-23 Oct        1000      35        NIO
  04B  Rashmi                 25-27 Oct        1000      45        NIO (1)
  05B  Khai Muk               13-16 Nov         998      45        NIO
  06B  Nisha                  25-28 Nov        1000      50        NIO (1)
  07B  -----                  04-07 Dec         ---      35        NIO

  NOTES:

  (1) The 1000-mb CP value given above was not for the time of maximum
      intensity.

 **************************************************************************
  
                             ACTIVITY BY BASINS

  ATLANTIC (ATL) - North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico

  Activity for December:  No tropical cyclones

  *************************************************************************

  NORTHEAST PACIFIC (NEP) - North Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 180

  Activity for December:  No tropical cyclones

  *************************************************************************

  NORTHWEST PACIFIC (NWP) - North Pacific Ocean West of Longitude 180

  Activity for December:  1 tropical depression **
                          1 typhoon

  ** - treated as a tropical depression by JMA only


                          Sources of Information
                          ----------------------

     Most of the information presented below is based upon tropical
  cyclone warnings and significant tropical weather outlooks issued
  by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center of the U. S. Air Force and
  Navy (JTWC), located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.   In the companion
  tropical cyclone tracks file, I normally annotate track coordinates
  from some of the various Asian warning centers when their center
  positions differ from JTWC's by usually 40-50 nm or more.   All
  references to sustained winds imply a 1-minute averaging period
  unless otherwise noted.

     Michael V. Padua of Naga City in the Philippines, owner of the
  Typhoon 2000 website, normally sends me cyclone tracks based upon
  warnings issued by the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the
  Philippines' Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services
  Administration (PAGASA).   A very special thanks to Michael for the 
  assistance he so reliably provides.

     In the title line for each storm I have referenced all the cyclone
  names/numbers I have available:   JTWC's depression number, the 
  JMA-assigned name (if any), JMA's tropical storm numeric designator,
  and PAGASA's name for systems forming in or passing through their
  area of warning responsibility.


               Northwest Pacific Tropical Activity for December
               ------------------------------------------------

     After nearly three months without a typhoon, the Northwest Pacific
  ended the year on a more normal note with Typhoon Dolphin tracking
  northward east of the Philippines.  What was unusual about Dolphin was
  its origin and track.  The system began life as an extratropical gale
  near Iwo Jima, described a huge oval-shaped loop taking in a large chunk
  of the WESTPAC, evolving into a subtropical and then tropical cyclone,
  and finally ending up once more as an extratropical LOW near Iwo Jima.
  A report on Dolphin follows.

     JMA classified a low-pressure system in the southern South China Sea
  west of northern Borneo as a minor tropical depression on 2 December,
  but late in the day downgraded it to a low-pressure area.  No track was
  given for this system in the companion cyclone tracks file.



                               TYPHOON DOLPHIN
                        (TC-27W / TY 0822 / ULYSSES)
                               2 - 19 December
              ------------------------------------------------

  Dolphin: contributed by Hong Kong, was selected to represent the Chinese
           while dolphins which live in Hong Kong waters; also, the dolphin
           is a mascot for Hong Kong

     Typhoon Dolphin provided a very unusual and interesting, even if not
  spectacular, ending to the rather quieter-than-normal 2008 typhoon
  season.  As a typhoon it was not particularly notable, but its origin
  and pre-tropical cyclone phase were quite out of the ordinary.  As early
  as 2 December a High Seas Warning issued by JMA noted that a new extra-
  tropical LOW had formed near 25N/143E, or roughly 100 nm east-northeast
  of Iwo To, or over 650 nm south-southeast of Tokyo.  The system moved
  rapidly east-northeastward and intensified, reaching an intensity of
  60 kts by 03/0600 UTC.  The extratropical storm had reached a position
  near 31N/158E, or about 850 nm northwest of Wake Island, by 0600 UTC on
  4 December.  After this the storm began to slowly weaken and its track
  began to bend east-southeastward, gradually curving more in a southward
  direction.  At 0000 UTC 7 December the system reached the easternmost
  point of its trajectory about 375 nm east-northeast of Wake Island, or
  near 21N/173E.  JMA still forecast the winds to be 50 kts, and although
  I have no information regarding its nature, it seems likely that the
  system by this time had taken on some hybrid/subtropical characteristics.

     The LOW quickly curved to a west-southwesterly track which carried it
  deeper into the tropics.  JMA classified the system as a weak tropical
  depression at 0000 UTC 8 December while located about 275 nm southeast
  of Wake Island.   The classification was lowered to 'low pressure area'
  at 09/0000 UTC, but raised back to tropical depression status 24 hours
  later.  A STWO issued by JTWC at 0600 UTC 9 December mentioned the
  system, which was then located about 440 nm northwest of Kwajalein
  Atoll.  At this time things didn't look too good for development.  While
  AMSU data showed a pronounced warm core, convection had waned and
  upper-level support was dreadful with 30-40 kts of vertical shear over
  the region.   A 09/1954 UTC QuikScat pass showed that the LLCC had
  continued to break down into a wave, and early on the 10th QuikScat
  data still showed no surface westerly winds.  However, shortly after the
  10/0600 UTC STWO was issued, things turned around.  A circulation was
  shown to be rapidly consolidating and warnings were initiated on Tropical
  Depression 27W at 10/1200 UTC, placing the center about 360 nm east of
  Guam with 25-kt winds.

     The MSW was upped to 30 kts at 10/1800 UTC as TD-27W zipped westward
  at around 17-18 kts.  The depression's center passed about 53 nm south
  of Guam around 0900 UTC 11 December.   At the same time JMA upped the
  winds to 30 kts.  JTWC upgraded the system to tropical storm status
  at 11/1800 UTC with the center estimated to be about 285 nm northeast
  of Yap.  JMA followed suit 12 hours later, naming the system Tropical
  Storm Dolphin.  Interestingly, at the time of JTWC's upgrade, the storm
  was forecast to hang on to tropical storm intensity for 24 hours then
  slowly dissipate.  This, of course, did not happen, although it took
  Dolphin three days to reach typhoon intensity.  The newly-christened
  storm slowly increased in intensity during the next 24 hours as it
  continued westward, reaching 55 kts by 13/0000 UTC (45 kts per JMA).
  Dolphin's intensity remained steady at 55-60 kts for the next couple
  of days as it continued to move westward but at a decelerating pace.
  (As the system entered PAGASA's AOR around 13/1200 UTC, it was given the
  local name Ulysses.)

     JTWC upgraded Dolphin to typhoon status at 15/0000 UTC with the center
  located approximately 535 nm east of Manila.  Typhoon Dolphin/Ulysses was
  tracking west-northwestward at 6 kts as it moved toward a weakness in the
  subtropical ridge induced by an approaching mid-latitude trough.   By
  1200 UTC the cyclone had turned to a northerly course.  It was at this
  time that JMA upgraded Dolphin to typhoon strength, and also the time of
  JTWC's estimated peak intensity of 90 kts, based on satellite intensity
  estimates of 77 and 90 kts.  Dolphin was capped by a mesoscale anti-
  cyclone which had enhanced outflow as well as helped to buffer the
  typhoon from strong vertical shear associated with the approaching
  upper-level mid-latitude trough.  Dolphin's estimated MSW dropped
  slightly to 85 kts and remained there for 18 hours before more rapid
  weakening set in.  JTWC reduced Dolphin to minimal typhoon status at
  16/1800 UTC with the storm now moving north-northeastward.  (JMA's
  10-min avg MSW estimate for Dolphin never exceeded 65 kts, and that
  agency classified Dolphin as a typhoon for only 24 hours.)

     Typhoon Dolphin continued to weaken as it accelerated northeastward.
  It weakened to a tropical storm at 17/0600 UTC, and both JTWC and JMA
  declared the former extratropical/subtropical/tropical cyclone to be
  extratropical once more at 18/1200 UTC.  Dolphin's remnants at this
  time were located about 40 nm east of Iwo To, and the final JMA reference
  to the system at 19/0000 UTC placed the weak center at 24N/145E, or only
  about 125 nm from its point of origin.  During its entire life cycle,
  this remarkable system in essence described a huge loop taking in much
  of the tropical and subtropical Western North Pacific.

     Large swells affected many islands through the Pacific.  As far away
  as Papua New Guinea huge waves smashed into dozens of villages and towns,
  rendering more than 400 people homeless.  Significant wave heights of
  2-3 metres were occurring around New Britain.  According to Roger Edson,
  it was the intensification of the subtropical LOW as it moved from
  30N/160E to around 20N/175E that 'triggered' the big winds and hence the
  big waves.   It was not the resultant tropical LOW (later TD-27W) which
  were responsible for the waves, but the 60+ kt winds over a 300-mile
  wide area north of the subtropical LOW.

     Following are a couple of links to information concerning the Papua
  New Guinea damage:

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7775038.stm>

  http://news.theage.com.au/world/png-seeks-aussie-help-after-tidal-surge-20081211-6wko.html>

     Sadly, there was significant loss of life associated with Typhoon
  Dolphin.  According to the Wikipedia report, the M/Bca Mae Jan was a
  cargo passenger ship which sank on 14 December due to rough seas caused
  by the typhoon.  At the time of its sinking the ship was carrying
  98 people.  Of these, 47 were known dead, six persons were reported
  missing, and 46 people survived.

     The Wikipedia report on Typhoon Dolphin may be accessed at the
  following URL:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Dolphin_(2008)>

  (Report written by Gary Padgett)

  *************************************************************************

  NORTH INDIAN OCEAN (NIO) - Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea

  Activity for December:  1 tropical cyclone **

  ** - treated as a deep depression by IMD


                          Sources of Information
                          ----------------------

     Most of the information presented below is based upon tropical
  cyclone warnings and significant tropical weather outlooks issued
  by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center of the U. S. Air Force and
  Navy (JTWC), located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.   Occasionally some
  information may be gleaned from the daily tropical weather outlooks
  and other bulletins issued by the Indian Meteorological Department
  (IMD), which is the World Meteorological Organization's Regional
  Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) for the basin.
 
     The reported maximum sustained winds (MSW) are based on a 1-minute
  averaging period, which is used by all U. S. civilian and military
  weather services for tropical cyclone warnings.     For synoptic
  observations in the North Indian Ocean region, both 10-minute and
  3-minute average winds are employed, but IMD makes no attempt to
  modify the Dvorak scale for estimating tropical cyclone intensity;
  hence, a 1-minute average MSW is implied.  In the North Indian Ocean
  basin JTWC usually does not initiate warnings until a system has
  become well-organized and likely to attain tropical storm status
  within 48 hours.



                             TROPICAL CYCLONE
                                 (TC-07B)
                              4 - 7 December
                   ------------------------------------

     Tropical Cyclone 07B was a rather far-traveled but weak tropical
  system which moved from the central Bay of Bengal westward at a low
  latitude and made landfall in Sri Lanka as a weak depression.  An area
  of convection developed on 1 December about 800 nm east-southeast of
  Colombo, Sri Lanka.  Limited deep convection was loosely rotating around
  a broad and poorly-defined LLCC.  Vertical shear was low and the system
  had favorable diffluence aloft.  The next day JTWC upgraded the potential
  for development to 'fair' as deep convection was beginning to wrap into
  an elongated but consolidating LLCC.  The system by this time was
  centered about 685 nm east of Colombo.   JTWC issued a TCFA at 2230 UTC
  on 3 December, followed by the first warning on TC-07B at 04/0000 UTC.
  This warning placed the center about 615 nm east of Colombo, or about
  500 nm east of the eastern coast of Sri Lanka.  The initial warning
  intensity was 30 kts, and TC-07B was tracking slightly north of due
  west at 5 kts.  IMD classified the system as a depression at 04/0300 UTC.

     The system changed little in intensity over the next couple of days
  as it tracked westward.  IMD upgraded it to deep depression status at
  05/0000 UTC, and JTWC upped the winds to 35 kts at 06/0000 UTC when the
  center located approximately 360 nm east-northeast of Colombo.  The
  LLCC was well-defined but partially-exposed.  JTWC maintained TC-07B
  as a minimal tropical storm for 24 hours, then downgraded it to 25 kts
  and issued their final warning at 07/0000 UTC.  A fully-exposed LLCC
  was sheared about 95 nm east of cycling, disorganized deep convection.
  According to an IMD outlook, by 07/1500 UTC the depression had moved
  inland into Sri Lanka and weakened into a well-marked low-pressure
  area.  The residual LOW continued westward into the southeastern Arabian
  Sea but did not regenerate.  IMD never classified this system above the
  deep depression stage; hence, no name was assigned.

     There are no reports of damage or casualties resulting from TC-07B.

  (Report written by Gary Padgett)
                       
  *************************************************************************

  SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN (SWI) - South Indian Ocean West of Longitude 90E

  Activity for December:  1 severe tropical storm


                           Sources of Information
                           ----------------------

     The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for
  Southwest Indian Ocean tropical cyclones are the warnings issued by
  the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre on La Reunion Island, part of
  Meteo France (MFR), and the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre
  for the basin.    However, tropical cyclones in this region are named 
  by the Sub-regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Centres in Mauritius and 
  Madagascar with longitude 55E being the demarcation line between their 
  respective areas of naming responsibility.  The La Reunion centre only 
  advises these agencies regarding the intensity of tropical systems.  
  References to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging period unless
  otherwise stated.

     In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally
  annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning
  Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl
  Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from MFR's coordinates by usually
  40-50 nm or more.  The JTWC warnings are also the source of the
  1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included in the
  tracks file.    Additionally, information describing details of
  satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in
  the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings.

  

                           TROPICAL STORM CINDA
                            (MFR-04 / TC-04S)
                             15 - 21 December
                 ----------------------------------------

  Cinda: contributed by Mozambique

     The first reference to the disturbance which ultimately developed
  into Severe Tropical Storm Cinda seems to have been in a STWO issued
  by JTWC at 1200 UTC on 13 December.  An area of convection was persisting
  approximately 290 nm southeast of Diego Garcia.  A LLCC had begun to
  rapidly consolidate with deep convection beginning to wrap into the
  center along the southern periphery.  Vertical wind shear was low and
  JTWC assessed the development potential to be 'fair'.   I do not have
  available the STWOs for 14 and 15 December, but apparently the rapid
  consolidation seen on the 13th was arrested.  At 16/1800 UTC the
  potential for development was still assessed as 'fair'.  The disturbance
  had migrated westward and by this time was located about 310 nm west-
  southwest of Diego Garcia.  In the meantime, MFR had initiated bulletins
  on Tropical Disturbance 04 at 1200 UTC 15 December and 10-min mean winds
  were estimated at 25 kts with 30-kt winds occurring locally in the
  southern semicircle.

     Late on the 16th the disturbance began to intensify and MFR upgraded
  the classification to tropical depression status at 17/0000 UTC.  At the
  same time JTWC issued their first warning on TC-04S, located about
  370 nm west-southwest of Diego Garcia.  Deep convection had developed
  over a tightly-wrapped LLCC, and Dvorak numbers were ranging from T2.0
  to T2.5.  After this spurt of strengthening, however, the intensity
  remained static for another 24 hours or so as the system continued to
  move west-southwestward across the South Indian Ocean.  Late on the 17th
  TC-04S began to undergo another round of intensification.  This led to
  Mauritius naming the system Tropical Storm Cinda at 0000 UTC 18 December.
  Six hours later Cinda reached its peak intensity of 50 kts (per MFR)
  while located about 450 nm southwest of Diego Garcia.  (JTWC's peak 1-min
  avg MSW was 55 kts--in good agreement.)  Around the time that Cinda
  reached its peak intensity its track took a southward turn.  The storm
  also began to weaken as vertical shear increased.    The winds had
  decreased to 40 kts by 19/0000 UTC but remained pegged there for a day
  and a half as Cinda returned to a more west-southwesterly course.  MFR
  downgraded the tropical storm to a depression at 20/1200 UTC and to a
  tropical disturbance six hours later.  JTWC issued their final warning
  on Cinda at 21/0000 UTC, placing the center about 480 nm northeast of
  Reunion Island, and MFR issued their final bulletin on ex-Cinda six
  hours later.

     No damage or casualties are known to have resulted from Tropical
  Storm Cinda.

  (Report written by Gary Padgett)

  *************************************************************************

  NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA/SOUTHEAST INDIAN OCEAN (AUW) - From 90E to 135E

  Activity for December:  1 severe tropical cyclone (intense)


                          Sources of Information
                          ----------------------

     The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for
  Northwest Australia/Southeast Indian Ocean tropical cyclones are 
  the warnings and advices issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning
  Centres at Perth, Western Australia, Darwin, Northern Territory,
  and less frequently, by the centre at Jakarta, Indonesia. 
  References to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging period
  unless otherwise stated.

     In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally
  annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning
  Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl
  Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from the Australian centres' coor-
  dinates by usually 40-50 nm or more.  The JTWC warnings are also the
  source of the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included
  in the tracks file.   Additionally, information describing details of
  satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in
  the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings.



                        SEVERE TROPICAL CYCLONE BILLY
                                   (TC-05S)
                              17 - 29 December
              -------------------------------------------------

     An area of convection developed and persisted on 16 December roughly
  200 nm west-northwest of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.  Weak
  convective banding was beginning to develop around a LLCC in the
  presence of low vertical shear and favorable divergence aloft.  The
  Darwin TCWC began issuing advices on the developing system at 0630 UTC
  on 17 December, placing the center then about 250 nm west of Darwin.
  Deep convective banding wrapping into the center had developed by the
  18th and JTWC issued a TCFA for the LOW.  At 18/1200 UTC BoM Darwin
  named the system Tropical Cyclone Billy with 40-kt winds.  Billy was
  moving slowly southeastward toward the Kimberley coast from a position
  about 200 nm southwest of Darwin.  The cyclone continued to strengthen,
  reaching an initial peak intensity of 50 kts at 19/0600 UTC.  This made
  Billy a Category 2 cyclone on the Australian Cyclone Severity Scale.
  Later on the 19th the cyclone's motion became west-southwesterly with
  the center crossing the coastline north of Wyndham around 1800 UTC.

     Following landfall, Billy weakened and was downgraded to a tropical
  LOW at 20/0600 UTC.  Over the next couple of days ex-Billy moved toward
  the west just inland from the Western Australia coastline, maintaining
  its structure, as inland cyclones tend to do in Australia.  The LOW
  moved back out over water around 0000 UTC 22 December and was immediately
  re-upgraded to cyclone status.  Billy turned to the west-southwest and
  continued to hug the coastline for a couple of days, which slowed the
  re-intensification process.   Late on the 23rd, Billy began to rapidly
  intensify with the MSW (10-min avg) increasing from 45 kts to a peak
  of 95 kts in 24 hours.  The cyclone reached its peak intensity of 95 kts
  at 1800 UTC on Christmas Eve while located approximately 170 nm north-
  northwest of Port Hedland.  (JTWC's concurrent 1-min avg MSW was 105 kts,
  in good agreement with BoM Perth.)  Around 24/0000 UTC Billy displayed
  a 6-nm diameter pinhole eye.

     Around the time Billy peaked in intensity, its track took on a rather
  pronounced west-northwesterly component.  The cyclone's intensity held
  rather steady through Christmas Day, but began to decline thereafter as
  vertical shear increased significantly.  The storm dropped below
  hurricane intensity at 26/1800 UTC, and the Perth TCWC issued their final
  warning at 28/1200 UTC as Billy weakened into a tropical LOW about
  380 nm north-northwest of Onslow, Western Australia.  The remnants of
  Billy moved generally westward for another couple of days.  In the
  companion cyclone tracks file prepared by the author, the track
  following Perth's final bulletin is based upon SAB satellite fix
  bulletins.  I lowered the winds to 25 kts based upon these, but a
  29/1011 UTC QuikScat pass showed some 30-kt wind vectors; also, there
  was some renewed convection and SAB assigned a T2.0/2.0 Dvorak rating
  at 29/0830, so I raised the MSW to 30 kts for that time only.  Following
  this the LOW continued to weaken and the final SAB bulletin placed the
  very weak center about 400 nm south-southeast of Christmas Island at
  30/0830 UTC.  The remnants of former Tropical Cyclone Billy continued
  moving westward across longitude 90E and several days later were in
  close proximity to another disturbance which developed into Severe
  Tropical Storm Dongo in early January.

     According to the Wikipedia report, two remote indigenous communities,
  Kalumburu and Oombulgurri, were cut off by floodwaters with roads and
  the airstrips closed.  No other information regarding damage and/or
  casualties has been received.

  (Report written by Gary Padgett)
                   
  *************************************************************************

  NORTHEAST AUSTRALIA/CORAL SEA (AUE) - From 135E to 160E

  Activity for December:  No tropical cyclones

  *************************************************************************

  SOUTH PACIFIC (SPA) - South Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 160E

  Activity for December:  1 tropical depression


                 South Pacific Tropical Activity for December
                 --------------------------------------------

     RSMC Nadi issued bulletins on three numbered disturbances during the
  month of December, classifying one of them as a tropical depression.
  Tropical Disturbances 01F and 03F were very short-lived and weak:  01F
  formed on 1 December near the Northern Cooks and lasted only a couple of
  days as it drifted westward, and 03F formed on 10 December in the Solomon
  Islands area.  This system apparently had no definite LLCC and all the
  convection was confined to the north of the system.   The second system,
  02F, formed on 3 December near the Southern Cooks and moved to the south-
  west for a few days.  It became organized enough that Fiji upped its
  classification to depression status on the 5th, but central winds never
  exceeded 25 kts.   I did not prepare a track for this system as it was
  quite weak, but track graphics and some information may be found for all
  three of these disturbances on the Wikipedia website.
                       
  *************************************************************************

         SPECIAL FEATURE - SOURCES OF TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION

     The purpose of this section is to list some websites where many and
  varied types of tropical cyclone information are archived.  Many readers
  will know about these already, but for the benefit of those who don't,
  I wanted to include them. 

  (1) Aircraft Reconnaissance Information
  ---------------------------------------

     Various types of messages from reconnaissance aircraft may be
  retrieved from the following FTP site:

     ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/products/nhc/recon/>

     Information regarding how to interpret the coded reconnaissance
  messages may be found at the following URL:

     http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/reconlist.shtml>

  Links are also included to websites with further information about the
  U. S. Air Force 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the NOAA Air-
  craft Operations Center.

  (2) Archived Advisories
  -----------------------

     All the advisory products (public advisories, forecast/advisories,
  strike probabilities, discussions, various graphics) issued by TPC/NHC
  are archived on TPC's website.  For the current year (using 2004 as an
  example), the archived products can be found at:

     http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2004/index.shtml>

  Links to tropical products archives for earlier years are available at
  the following URL:

     http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastall.shtml>

  JTWC warnings for past storms are archived on the NRL Monterrey website:

     http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html>

  On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left 
  corner of the screen.

     I am not aware at the moment of any other TCWC which archives all
  its tropical cyclone warning/advisory products for public access, but
  if I learn of any, I will add them to this list.

  (3) Satellite Imagery
  ---------------------

     Satellite images of tropical cyclones in various sensor bands are
  available on the NRL Monterrey and University of Wisconsin websites,
  courtesy of Jeff Hawkins and Chris Velden and their associates.  The
  links are:

     http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html>

     http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/tropic.html>

  On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left 
  corner of the screen.  For the CIMSS site, a link to data archives is 
  located in the lower left portion of the screen.

     Additional tropical satellite imagery, along with looping ability for
  composite microwave imagery for the Western Hemisphere north of the
  equator, can be found at:

  (1) For the Eastern North Pacific:

     http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-epac.html>

  (2) For the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea:

     http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-atl.html>

  (4) Cyclone Tracking Information
  --------------------------------

     There is a U. S. Navy site that tracks tropical cyclones at 6-hourly
  intervals which often includes pre and post-advisory positions.  The
  link to the site is:

  http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/atcf_web/doc_archives/>

     Steve Young has compiled many of these tracks onto a single webpage
  which is very user-friendly:

  http://home.earthlink.net/~shy9/tc1.htm>


     I'm sure there are other sites with available imagery available, and
  as I learn of them, I will add the links to this list.

  *************************************************************************

                               EXTRA FEATURE

     In order to shorten the amount of typing in preparing the narrative
  material, I have been in the habit of freely using abbreviations and
  acronyms.   I have tried to define most of these with the first usage
  in a given summary, but I may have missed one now and then.  Most of
  these are probably understood by a majority of readers but perhaps a
  few aren't clear to some.  To remedy this I developed a Glossary of
  Abbreviations and Acronyms which I first included in the August, 1998
  summary.  I don't normally include the Glossary in most months in
  order to help keep them from being too long.  If anyone would like to
  receive a copy of the Glossary, please e-mail me and I'll be happy
  to send them a copy.

  *************************************************************************

  AUTHOR'S NOTE:  This summary should be considered a very preliminary 
  overview of the tropical cyclones that occur in each month. The cyclone
  tracks (provided separately) will generally be based upon operational
  warnings issued by the various tropical cyclone warning centers.  The
  information contained therein may differ somewhat from the tracking and
  intensity information obtained from a "best-track" file which is based
  on a detailed post-seasonal analysis of all available data. Information
  on where to find official "best-track" files from the various warning
  centers will be passed along from time to time.

    The track files are not being sent via e-mail.  They can be retrieved
  from the archive sites listed below.  (Note: I do have a limited e-mail
  distribution list for the track files.    If anyone wishes to receive
  these via e-mail, please send me a message.)

    Both the summaries and the track files are standard text files
  created in DOS editor.  Download to disk and use a viewer such as
  Notepad or DOS editor to view the files.

     The first summary in this series covered the month of October,
  1997.   Back issues can be obtained from the following websites
  (courtesy of Michael Bath, Michael V. Padua, Michael Pitt, and
  Chris Landsea):

    http://australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/>
    http://www.typhoon2000.ph>
    http://mpittweather.com>
    ftp://ftp.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/pub/landsea/padgett/>


     Another website where much information about tropical cyclones may
  be found is the website for the UK Meteorological Office.  Their site
  contains a lot of statistical information about tropical cyclones
  globally on a monthly basis.  The URL is:

    http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/tropicalcyclone>
    

                    TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORTS AVAILABLE

     JTWC now has available on its website the Annual Tropical Cyclone
  Report (ATCR) for 2007 (2006-2007 season for the Southern Hemisphere).
  ATCRs for earlier years are available also.

     The URL is:  http://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php>

     Also, TPC/NHC has available on its webpage nice "technicolor"
  tracking charts for the 2007 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific
  tropical cyclones; also, storm reports for all the 2007 Atlantic
  and Eastern North Pacific cyclones are now available, as well as
  track charts and reports on storms from earlier years. 

     The URL is:  http://www.nhc.noaa.gov>


     A special thanks to Michael Bath of McLeans Ridges, New South Wales,
  Australia, for assisting me with proofreading the summaries.


  PREPARED BY

  Gary Padgett
  E-mail:  [email protected]
  Phone:  334-222-5327

  Kevin Boyle  (Northwest Pacific)
  E-mail:  [email protected]

  *************************************************************************
  *************************************************************************

Document: summ0812.htm
Updated: 13th February 2009

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