Typhoon Bilis (2000)
| Typhoon (JMA scale) | |
|---|---|
| Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale) | |
Typhoon Bilis at peak intensity on August 22
|
|
| Formed | August 18, 2000 |
| Dissipated | August 27, 2000 |
| (Extratropical after August 25, 2000) | |
| Highest winds |
10-minute sustained: 205 km/h (125 mph) 1-minute sustained: 260 km/h (160 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 920 hPa (mbar); 27.17 inHg |
| Fatalities | 71 |
| Damage | $668 million (2000 USD) () |
| Areas affected | |
| Part of the 2000 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Bilis, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Isang, was the strongest tropical cyclone in the western Pacific during 2000 and wrought considerable damage in Taiwan and China in August of that year. The tenth named storm of the season, Bilis originated from an area of disturbed weather that developed into a tropical depression southeast of Guam on August 18. Situated within an environment highly conductive for continued tropical development, the depression intensified into a tropical storm a day after formation; Bilis was upgraded to typhoon status on August 20 as it maintained a northwest course. Without significant inhibiting factors, the typhoon reached peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 205 km/h (125 mph) and a minimum barometric pressure of 920 mbar (hPa; 27.17 inHg). At the same intensity Bilis made landfall on Taiwan the following day. Despite its short stint over land, Bilis was greatly weakened, and made a brief track over the Taiwan Strait before its final landfall on China's Fujian Province early the next day. Moving inland into Mainland China, Bilis quickly weakened, and was only a tropical depression later that day; the depression diffused into a remnant low on August 25. These remnants tracked northeast across the Yellow Sea before dissipating in the Korean Peninsula on August 27.
The predecessor to Typhoon Bilis began as a developing area of disturbed weather well south-southeast of Guam on August 15. Satellite analysis revealed a broad low-pressure area associated with the developing convection. Within an area supportive of tropical cyclogenesis, the disturbance gradually organized and intensified. At 0600 UTC on August 17, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began classifying the system as a tropical depression. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) followed suit the following day at 1200 UTC. Tracking northwestward, the favorable conditions allowed the depression to quickly strengthen and attain tightly wrapped rainbands, prompting the JMA to upgrade the system to tropical storm status at 0600 UTC on August 19, thus designating the storm with the name Bilis.
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