Typhoon Lupit (2003)

Typhoon Lupit (Yoyoy)

Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Typhoon Lupit near peak intensity on November 26
Formed	November 18, 2003
Dissipated	December 4, 2003
(Extratropical after December 2)
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 185 km/h (115 mph) 1-minute sustained: 270 km/h (165 mph)
Lowest pressure	915 hPa (mbar); 27.02 inHg
Fatalities	None reported
Damage	$1.7 million (2003 USD)
Areas affected	Federated States of Micronesia, Japan
Part of the 2003 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Lupit, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yoyoy, destroyed the food supply in several small islands in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). It formed on November 18, 2003, from the monsoon trough to the west of the Marshall Islands. Early in its duration, it moved generally to the west or west-southwest. On November 21, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Lupit, the 21st storm named by the Japan Meteorological Agency of the 2003 Pacific typhoon season. Two days later, it strengthened into a typhoon and developed an eye. Lupit later began a prolonged movement to the northwest, during which it passed near several islands in Yap State. The typhoon reached peak intensity on November 26, with peak 10‑minute sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph). It later weakened due to increasing wind shear and drier air, and after recurving to the northeast, Lupit became extratropical south of Japan on December 2.

Typhoon Lupit first affected Pohnpei with tropical storm-force winds, and later it damaged or destroyed about 200 homes in Chuuk State. There, high waves flooded roads and homes, while high winds damaged crops. Damage was heaviest in Yap State, mostly in the small Ulithi atoll and Fais Island. On both islands, the typhoon contaminated the water supply and wrecked crops. Rainfall reached 263 mm (10.35 in) on Ulithi, and gusts reached 158 km/h (98 mph). Throughout the FSM, damage totaled about $1.7 million, although there were no deaths. The damage prompted the FSM government to declare two states as disaster areas, as well as a disaster declaration from the United States federal government. While Lupit was becoming extratropical, it became the first typhoon in December to threaten Japan in 13 years. There, the storm dropped rainfall that resulted in mudslides and flight cancellations.