The 2008 season

Typhoon Dolphin (2008)

Typhoon Dolphin reached Category 2 in the Western Pacific between December 8, 2008 and December 18, 2008, with a lowest pressure of 959 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Dolphin, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2008 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
December 8, 2008 to December 18, 2008
Peak strength
Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
Lowest pressure
959 mb (28.32 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 553 km (344 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
9.7
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
110 nmi (204 km, 127 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
35 nmi (65 km, 40 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
15 nmi (28 km, 17 mi)
Overall size
235 nmi (435 km, 270 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Fastest the center moved
24 kt (28 mph)
Identifier
WP272008

Radar at PGUA as it neared land, Dec 11, 06:00 UTC

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Dec 8, 06:0015.5N 168.0E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Dec 8, 12:0014.6N 166.1E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Dec 8, 18:0014.0N 164.2E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Dec 9, 00:0013.5N 162.2E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Dec 9, 06:0013.2N 160.1E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Dec 9, 12:0012.7N 158.0E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Dec 9, 18:0012.3N 156.0E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Dec 10, 00:0011.7N 154.1E20 kt1006 mbDisturbance
Dec 10, 06:0011.9N 152.2E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Dec 10, 12:0012.2N 150.5E25 kt1002 mbTropical depression
Dec 10, 18:0012.5N 148.8E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Dec 11, 00:0012.7N 146.8E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Dec 11, 06:0012.8N 145.0E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Dec 11, 12:0013.0N 143.2E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Dec 11, 18:0013.2N 141.9E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Dec 12, 00:0013.3N 141.0E40 kt993 mbTropical storm
Dec 12, 06:0013.6N 140.1E40 kt993 mbTropical storm
Dec 12, 12:0013.8N 139.2E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Dec 12, 18:0014.0N 138.2E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Dec 13, 00:0014.0N 137.1E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 13, 06:0013.9N 135.9E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Dec 13, 12:0013.8N 134.7E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Dec 13, 18:0013.6N 133.6E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Dec 14, 00:0013.2N 132.8E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Dec 14, 06:0013.3N 132.1E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Dec 14, 12:0013.6N 131.4E60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Dec 14, 18:0013.7N 130.7E60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Dec 15, 00:0013.9N 130.3E65 kt978 mbTyphoon
Dec 15, 06:0014.3N 130.4E70 kt970 mbTyphoon
Dec 15, 12:0014.8N 130.5E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Dec 15, 18:0015.4N 130.5E85 kt959 mbTyphoon
Dec 16, 00:0015.9N 130.6E85 kt959 mbTyphoon
Dec 16, 06:0016.4N 130.7E85 kt959 mbTyphoon
Dec 16, 12:0017.0N 130.9E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Dec 16, 18:0017.7N 131.3E70 kt970 mbTyphoon
Dec 17, 00:0018.5N 132.0E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Dec 17, 06:0019.3N 132.7E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Dec 17, 12:0020.2N 133.9E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Dec 17, 18:0021.2N 135.5E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 18, 00:0022.1N 137.3E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Dec 18, 06:0023.7N 139.5E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Dec 18, 12:0024.1N 141.3E1008 mbExtratropical
Dec 18, 18:0024.8N 143.0E1010 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 2008

What this means

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Sources

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.