Typhoon Jangmi (2008)

Typhoon Jangmi (Ofel)

Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Typhoon Jangmi near peak intensity on September 27
Formed	September 23, 2008
Dissipated	October 5, 2008
(Extratropical after October 1, 2008)
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 215 km/h (130 mph) 1-minute sustained: 260 km/h (160 mph)
Lowest pressure	905 hPa (mbar); 26.72 inHg
Fatalities	6 dead, 2 missing
Damage	$87.7 million (2008 USD)
Areas affected	Taiwan, Japan
Part of the 2008 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Jangmi (pronounced [tɕaŋ.mi]), known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ofel, was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Northwest Pacific Ocean during the 2000s, tied with Nida in 2009. Jangmi, which means rose in Korean, developed into a tropical storm on September 24 and underwent rapid deepening on September 26–27. The typhoon significantly weakened on September 28, owing to crossing Taiwan.

Jangmi killed 2 people and caused about $77.8 million (2008 USD) in damage in Taiwan, as well as the typhoon also made operations of Maokong Gondola suspended due to erosion around a pillar, until March 30, 2010. When Jangmi was weakening and becoming extratropical, it killed 4 people and caused about $9.9 million (2008 USD) in damage in Japan.

A low-pressure area formed south of Guam on September 22. On the next day, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert on the system. Owing to the low-level circulation center (LLCC) rapidly consolidating with convective banding, JTWC upgraded it to a tropical depression late on the same day. Overall, the environment was favorable for further development, with a developing anticyclone over the LLCC, weak vertical wind shear, and good poleward outflow due to a cold-core low north of the system.

Early on September 24, JTWC upgraded the system to a tropical storm; however, according to RSMC Best Track Data, the system intensified into a tropical depression at the same time. At noon, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) upgraded the system to a tropical storm and named it Jangmi, when it was tracking northwestward under the steering influence of the subtropical ridge in the northeast. Several hours later, Jangmi entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility, earning the name Ofel from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).