Typhoon Sepat (2007)

Typhoon Sepat (Egay)

Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Typhoon Sepat east of Luzon
Formed	August 12, 2007
Dissipated	August 22, 2007
(Extratropical after August 20, 2007)
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 205 km/h (125 mph) 1-minute sustained: 260 km/h (160 mph)
Lowest pressure	910 hPa (mbar); 26.87 inHg
Fatalities	At least 43
Damage	At least $692.5 million (2007 USD)
Areas affected	Philippines, Taiwan, China
Part of the 2007 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Sepat, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Egay, was the eighth tropical storm of the 2007 Pacific typhoon season that affected the Philippines and made landfall in Taiwan and Fujian.

On August 11, a low-level circulation center formed in conjunction with a persistent area of convection about 1,280 km (800 mi) southeast of Naha, Okinawa. Northerly upper-level winds initially provided beneficial divergence, though also resulted in detrimental wind shear and lack of inflow. Upper-level conditions gradually became more favorable for development as the disturbance tracked along the eastern periphery of an upper-level anticyclone. With convective rain bands wrapping into the circulation, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a tropical cyclone formation alert on the system late on August 11. Remaining nearly stationary between ridges to its northeast and southwest, the system developed further, and early on August 12 the JTWC classified it as Tropical Depression 09W. Shortly thereafter, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) classified it as a tropical depression while located about 1,245 km (774 mi) southeast of Okinawa.

Twelve hours later, the JTWC upgraded the tropical depression to a tropical storm based on Dvorak technique satellite intensity estimates and the storm exhibiting tightly-curved convective bands. An upper-level low helped to reduce wind shear that had been affecting the storm. The JTWC also warned of the possibility of rapid intensification. The JMA upgraded the depression to a tropical storm later that day and named it , a name contributed by Malaysia referring to a freshwater fish species.