Typhoon Dot (1985)

Typhoon Dot (Saling)

Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Typhoon Dot, with a clear pinhole eye, nearing landfall in the Philippines
Formed	October 13, 1985
Dissipated	October 22, 1985
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 220 km/h (140 mph) 1-minute sustained: 280 km/h (175 mph)
Lowest pressure	895 hPa (mbar); 26.43 inHg
Fatalities	90
Damage	$104.9 million (1985 USD)
Areas affected	Philippines, Hainan, Vietnam
Part of the 1985 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Dot, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Saling, was the strongest storm of the 1985 season. Dot originated from a small area of thunderstorm activity in early to mid October. The system was first classified on October 11, and steadily intensified over the next few days. Dot attained typhoon strength on October 15, and subsequently entered a period of explosive deepening, which was not anticipated by forecasters. The next day the intensification rate slowed, but that evening, Dot attained its maximum intensify. A steady weakening trend began on October 17, though the system maintained typhoon intensity through the passage of the Philippines. After entering the South China Sea late on October 18, Dot briefly re-intensified, only to weaken as it approached Vietnam. On October 21, Dot struck Vietnam while still a typhoon, but dissipated the next day over the high terrain of the nation.

Although damage across the Philippines was less than initially expected, the typhoon lashed the nation with heavy rains. Nueva suffered the worst effects from Dot. There, 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) of crops and 90% of all buildings were damaged. In Cabanatuan, 2,500 homes and 90% of structures were destroyed. Overall, 42 towns were flooded, forcing a total of 125,000 people to flee their homes, 35,000 of which were homeless. Furthermore, 52,933 houses were leveled while an additional 200,450 were damaged. Nationwide, 24 were hurt. While tracking through the South China Sea, Dot passed through Hainan Island. There, two casualties occurred while 34 others suffered injuries. Across the island, over 2,300 dwellings were destroyed. In all, Dot was responsible for 90 deaths and $104.9 million (1985 USD) in damage.

Following the extratropical transition of Typhoon Brenda on October 5, a mid-level subtropical ridge became centered over the northwestern Pacific, which resulted in an absence of the typical southwesterly monsoon flow typically seen during the autumn. Satellite imagery first detected an area of convection roughly 280 km (170 mi) southeast of Ponape on October 11. At 1200 UTC, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) first identified the system. The next day, the storm's outflow became better defined as the storm tracked west-northwest. On October 13, wind shear began to decrease, and the cyclone developed a well-defined circulation. Based on this, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) upgraded the system into Tropical Storm Dot. That evening, the JMA followed suit. The newly upgraded Dot was situated in an area of strong easterly winds, and thus the JTWC correctly predicted to the system to continue west-northwest, despite forecasts from various tropical cyclone forecast models that showed otherwise. Dot steadily strengthened during this period, and midday on October 14, the JMA classified Dot as a severe tropical storm. Several hours later, the JTWC upgraded Dot into a typhoon, with the JMA following early on October 15. Around this time, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) also monitored the storm and assigned it with the local name Saling.