The 2008 season

Super Typhoon Rammasun (2008)

Super Typhoon Rammasun reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between May 6, 2008 and May 14, 2008, with a lowest pressure of 922 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Super Typhoon Rammasun, 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
May 6, 2008 to May 14, 2008
Peak strength
Category 4, 135 kt (155 mph)
Lowest pressure
922 mb (27.23 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 408 km (254 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
16.9
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
190 nmi (352 km, 219 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
60 nmi (111 km, 69 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
20 nmi (37 km, 23 mi)
Overall size
270 nmi (500 km, 311 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Fastest the center moved
28 kt (32 mph)
Identifier
WP032008

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
May 6, 18:007.2N 134.2E20 kt1004 mbDisturbance
May 7, 00:007.0N 133.5E20 kt1005 mbDisturbance
May 7, 06:007.4N 132.9E30 kt1001 mbTropical depression
May 7, 12:007.7N 132.4E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
May 7, 18:007.9N 132.1E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
May 8, 00:008.2N 132.0E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
May 8, 06:008.7N 132.0E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
May 8, 12:009.4N 131.9E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
May 8, 18:0010.3N 132.0E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
May 9, 00:0011.2N 132.2E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
May 9, 06:0012.0N 132.2E70 kt970 mbTyphoon
May 9, 12:0012.8N 132.1E85 kt959 mbTyphoon
May 9, 18:0013.6N 132.1E100 kt948 mbTyphoon
May 10, 00:0014.5N 132.1E120 kt933 mbTyphoon
May 10, 06:0015.6N 132.1E125 kt929 mbTyphoon
May 10, 12:0016.9N 132.0E135 kt922 mbSuper typhoon
May 10, 18:0018.2N 131.9E135 kt922 mbSuper typhoon
May 11, 00:0019.5N 131.8E135 kt922 mbSuper typhoon
May 11, 06:0020.8N 132.1E120 kt933 mbTyphoon
May 11, 12:0022.1N 132.6E115 kt937 mbTyphoon
May 11, 18:0023.7N 133.5E95 kt952 mbTyphoon
May 12, 00:0025.4N 134.6E85 kt959 mbTyphoon
May 12, 06:0027.4N 136.3E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
May 12, 12:0029.1N 138.3E55 kt982 mbExtratropical
May 12, 18:0030.5N 140.4E50 kt985 mbExtratropical
May 13, 00:0031.6N 142.4E40 kt993 mbExtratropical
May 13, 06:0032.6N 144.5E35 kt996 mbExtratropical
May 13, 12:0033.4N 146.8E30 kt1000 mbExtratropical
May 13, 18:0034.3N 147.4E1004 mbExtratropical
May 14, 00:0034.9N 149.9E1008 mbExtratropical
May 14, 06:0035.5N 152.2E1010 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.