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Tropical cyclones in 2008
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Throughout 2008, 124 tropical cyclones have formed in bodies of water known as tropical cyclone basins. Of these, 83 have been named, by various weather agencies when they attained maximum sustained winds of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The strongest storm of the year was Typhoon Jangmi in the Western Pacific Ocean. The deadliest storm of the year was Cyclone Nargis, which caused devastating and castatrophic destruction in Myanmar with 138,373 fatalities. The costliest storm of the year was Hurricane Ike, which wreaked havoc thorough Cuba and Texas, with $38 billion (2008 USD) in damage. Throughout the year, 24 Category 3 tropical cyclones formed, including one Category 5 tropical cyclone in the year. The accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index for the 2008 (seven basins combined), as calculated by Colorado State University was 613.9 units.
Tropical cyclones are primarily monitored by a group of ten warning centres, which have been designated as a Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) or a Tropical Cyclone Warning Center (TCWC) by the World Meteorological Organization. These are the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC) and Central Pacific Hurricane Center, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Météo-France, Indonesia's Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Papua New Guinea's National Weather Service, the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) as well as New Zealand's MetService. Other notable warning centres include the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), and the Brazilian Navy Hydrographic Center.

Among them, Jangmi (fourth image in the final row) was the most intense, with a minimum central pressure of 905 hPa.
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Global atmospheric and hydrological conditions
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Summary

North Atlantic Ocean

Eastern Pacific Ocean

Western Pacific Ocean

North Indian Ocean

South-West Indian Ocean
January–June
July–December
Australian Region
January–June
July–December
South Pacific Ocean
January–June
July–December
Mediterranean Sea
In the Mediterranean Sea, there were 3 Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones formed, but they aren't well-documented. June 2008, August 2008, and September 2008,[1] December 4, 2008[2] were the dates when they took shape. The damages, deaths, and the affected places are unknown.
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Systems
Summarize
Perspective
A total of 124 systems formed globally in the year with 83 of them causing significant damage, deaths, and/or setting records for their basin.
January

The month of January was moderately active, seeing eleven tropical cyclones develop, with five being named. Tropical Cyclone Elisa affected Tonga and Niue as a tropical cyclone on early January, whileSevere Tropical Cyclone Funa became the second strongest tropical cyclone during the 2007–08 South Pacific cyclone season, causing heavy flood and wind damage to Vanuatu. On the South-West Indian Ocean basin, 3 more systems formed on the South-West Indian Ocean basin: 07, Fame and Gula, which caused torrential rainfall and gusty winds to the Mascarene Islands and Madagascar. 08F, 09F, 11F, and Guna formed on the South Pacific basin, while 2 systems formed in the West Pacific basin: 01W and an unmonitored weak tropical depression.
February

The month of February is tied with May as the second least active month in terms of formed systems with 7 tropical systems; however, 4 were named and developed hurricane-force winds and were classified as severe tropical cyclones. No tropical cyclones developed within the Northern Hemisphere, the fourth occurrence since 2005. Cyclone Hondo was the strongest and longest-lived tropical cyclone to develop during the 2007–08 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, which affected Mauritius and Reunion. On the South-west Indian Ocean basin, one more system formed: Cyclone Ivan which devastated Madagascar as an intense tropical cyclone. On the Australian basin, 4 systems took shape: a tropical low, Nicholas, Ophelia, and 20P. On the South Pacific basin, 13F formed, which affected Cook Islands in its lifetime.
March

March is tied with April and June as the least active month, with just six tropical cyclones; however, four of them are named. Intense Tropical Cyclone Jokwe was the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in Mozambique since Cyclone Favio struck in the previous year, and was the most recent cyclone to make landfall on the same country until it was overtaken by Cyclone Dineo in 2017. 2 more systems formed in the southwest Indian Ocean basin: Kamba and Lola., with the latter affecting Mauritius. 14F formed on the South Pacific basin and brought little to none damages on New Caledonia, while Pancho formed on the Australian basin, affecting Christmas Island and Western Australia as a severe tropical cyclone. A tropical depression on the West Pacific was identified on March 26–27, affecting the Philippines.
April

The month of April is tied with March and June as the least active month, with just 6 systems developing; however, 4 are respectively named. Typhoon Neoguri was the earliest tropical cyclone on record to strike the mainland China, which left 26 deaths and over $65 million worth of damages to the said country. Also included here is Cyclone Nargis which is an extremely destructive and deadly tropical cyclone, and became the second-costliest tropical cyclone recorded in the Indian Ocean, just after Cyclone Amphan in 2020. It left an unconfirmed total of 138,373 deaths; mainly on Myanmar and $12.9 billion worth of damages. 2 depressions formed on the South Pacific basin and affected Vanuatu and New Caledonia: 15F and 16F. Rosie and Durga formed on the Australian region; bringing minor damages and rainfall on Christmas Island and Cocos Islands.
May

The month of May was tied with February as the second-least active month, with seven systems developing; six of those being named. Included here is Typhoon Rammasun, which brought gusty rainfalls across eastern Philippines and paralleled on Japan before weakening. Matmo, a tropical depression, Nakri and Tropical Storm Halong also formed on the West Pacific, affecting Philippines, Japan, the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Mariana Islands. Tropical Storm Alma formed on the East Pacific basin. As it dissipated over Central America, its remnants interacted with two tropical waves, subsequently forming Tropical Storm Arthur on the Atlantic, which worsened the situations on the place which Alma made landfall.
June

The month of June is tied with March and April for the most inactive month with 6 systems developing; however, 3 are named. Fengshen made a direct hit on the Philippines and China, causing severe damage and resulted in at least 1,371 deaths and leaving at least 87 people missing. Another unmonitored tropical depression struck Taiwan and affected South Korea on June 6. On the North Indian Ocean basin, ARB 01 and BOB 02 formed; bringing torrential rainfall and damages on Oman, India and Bangladesh. Boris and Cristina took shape on the East Pacific basin; however, they stayed well from the land. An unidentified medicane formed in June 2008, however, it was unknown.
July

During July, thirteen tropical cyclones formed and the month became the third-most active month of the year, with ten of the cyclones being named. Included here is Bertha, which became the longest-lived Atlantic tropical cyclone on record during the month of July. It affected the East Coast of the United States and Bermuda, leaving 3 fatalities and minimal damages. A near hurricane-strength Cristobal skirted Florida and The Carolinas as a developing tropical storm, and the Atlantic Canada as an extratropical storm. Dolly severely impacted Texas, New Mexico and Arizona as a Category 3 major hurricane, while it affected the Yucatán Peninsula and Mexico as a tropical storm. It was responsible for 22 fatalities and $1.6 billion worth of damages. Back in the West Pacific, the activity started with Gener which impacted Guangdong Province in China. Kalmaegi followed, skirting to the east of Philippines before impacting Taiwan and China. It was responsible for $332.3 million worth of damages and 25 deaths. Adding on, Fung-wong severely impacted Taiwan as a Category 2 typhoon, just 10 days after Kalmaegi lashed the country. 2 more weak depressions formed; however, it didn't affect any landmasses. On the East Pacific, Douglas started the activity, skirting to the northeast of Mexico. A tropical depression brought torrential rainfalls across Southwestern Mexico, leaving 2 deaths and $2.2 million worth of damages. Elida, Fausto and Genevieve followed suit; however, it didn't affect any major landmasses, but it brought rainfalls across Clarion Island and Socorro Island.
August

August was the second most active month of the year, seeing 18 tropical cyclones forming and 14 named storms.
September

October

November

December

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Global effects
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Notes
1 Only systems that formed either on or after January 1, 2008 are counted in the seasonal totals.
2 Only systems that formed either before or on December 31, 2008 are counted in the seasonal totals.
3 The wind speeds for this tropical cyclone/basin are based on the IMD Scale which uses 3-minute sustained winds.
4 The wind speeds for this tropical cyclone/basin are based on the Saffir Simpson Scale which uses 1-minute sustained winds.
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See also
References
External links
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