Typhoon Yagi (2006)

Typhoon Yagi

Typhoon (JMA scale)
Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Typhoon Yagi at peak intensity
Formed	September 16, 2006
Dissipated	September 27, 2006
(Extratropical after September 25, 2006)
Highest winds	10-minute sustained: 195 km/h (120 mph) 1-minute sustained: 260 km/h (160 mph)
Lowest pressure	910 hPa (mbar); 26.87 inHg
Fatalities	None reported
Areas affected	Chichijima and Iwo Jima
Part of the 2006 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Yagi was an intense typhoon, the strongest of the 2006 Pacific typhoon season, which reached the equivalence of Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Forming out of a tropical depression on September 16, Yagi quickly strengthened as it executed a slow clockwise loop over the open waters of the western Pacific Ocean. On September 19, Yagi strengthened into a typhoon as a subtropical ridge steered the storm towards the west. Two days later, the storm reached its peak intensity with winds of 195 km/h (120 mph 10-minute winds) with a minimum pressure of 910 hPa (mbar). The typhoon gradually weakened as it recurved towards the northeast and was downgraded to a severe tropical storm on September 24 and became extratropical the next day. The storm was last noted near the Aleutian Islands on September 27. The typhoon caused severe damage on the island of Chichijima but no injuries were reported as a result of the storm.

On September 16, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) began monitoring an area of convection as a tropical depression about 1,270 km (790 mi) east-northeast of Guam. The depression was located within an area of low to moderate wind shear under an upper-level anticyclone. Flaring convection was noted along the eastern portion of the developing system before the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert later that day. Early on September 17, the JTWC began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression 16W. Located within a weak steering environment, the storm executed a clockwise loop while quickly strengthening. Several hours after the JTWC issued their first advisory, the JMA upgraded the system to a tropical storm and gave it the name Yagi; the name was contributed by Japan, and is the Japanese word for "goat". Late on September 18, the JMA upgraded Yagi to a severe tropical storm while the JTWC classified the storm as a minimal typhoon.