Typhoon Yutu

Typhoon Yutu (Rosita)

Yutu at peak intensity west of the Northern Mariana Islands on October 25
Meteorological history
Formed	October 21, 2018
Remnant low	November 2, 2018
Dissipated	November 3, 2018
Violent typhoon
10-minute sustained (JMA)
Highest winds	215 km/h (130 mph)
Lowest pressure	900 hPa (mbar); 26.58 inHg
Category 5-equivalent super typhoon
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC)
Highest winds	280 km/h (175 mph)
Lowest pressure	904 hPa (mbar); 26.70 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities	30
Damage	$854 million (2018 USD)
Areas affected	Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands (particularly Tinian and Saipan), Philippines, South China
IBTrACS
Part of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Yutu, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Rosita, was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone that caused catastrophic destruction on the islands of Tinian and Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, and later impacted the Philippines. It is the strongest typhoon ever recorded to impact the Mariana Islands, and is tied as the second-strongest tropical cyclone to strike the United States and its unincorporated territories by both wind speed and barometric pressure. It also tied Typhoon Kong-rey as the most powerful tropical cyclone worldwide in 2018. The fortieth tropical depression, twenty-sixth named storm, twelfth typhoon, and the seventh super typhoon of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season, Yutu originated from a low-pressure area that formed in the western Pacific Ocean on October 15. The disturbance organized into a tropical depression on the same day, as ocean sea-surface heat content increased. Shortly after becoming a tropical depression, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) assigned the system the identifier 31W. The system continued to strengthen, becoming a tropical storm several hours later, with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) naming the system Yutu. Increasingly favorable conditions allowed Yutu to explosively intensify, as the system maintained deep convection and subsequently became a severe tropical storm and then a typhoon.

Through October 23, Yutu continued to explosively intensify, quickly reaching Category 5 super typhoon intensity on October 24. On October 25, Yutu made landfall on the island of Tinian and the southern part of Saipan at its peak intensity, with a minimum central pressure of 900 millibars (27 inHg), 10-minute sustained winds of 215 km/h (134 mph), 1-minute sustained winds of 280 km/h (170 mph), and gusts of up to 305 km/h (190 mph). This made it the most powerful tropical cyclone to make landfall worldwide in 2018. Immediately after making landfall, Yutu underwent an eyewall replacement cycle, causing it to momentarily weaken as it completed the process. Maintaining super typhoon status, Yutu continued to move westward towards the Philippines, entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) whereupon it was assigned the local name Rosita. Intrusions of dry air and lower sea surface temperatures, however, caused Yutu to weaken significantly through October 28, though it remained a strong typhoon. Late on October 29, Yutu made landfall in the Filipino province of Isabela, with 10-minute sustained winds of 100 mph (160 km/h). The JTWC estimated 1-minute winds to be 165 km/h (103 mph) at that time.

The storm wrought catastrophic damage across Tinian and Saipan, destroying numerous homes and killing two people. Violent winds destroyed concrete structures in southern Saipan and stripped areas of vegetation. In the Philippines, landslides and flooding killed at least 27 people,^[1] while in Hong Kong, one person was killed by high surf.^[2]