Jump to content

User:HurricaneParrot/sandbox/Tropical Storm Nell (1993)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Severe Tropical Storm Nell (Puring)
Severe tropical storm (JMA scale)
Category 1 typhoon (SSHWS)
Nell prior to landfall in the Philippines on December 25
FormedDecember 20, 1993
DissipatedJanuary 1, 1994
Highest winds10-minute sustained: 110 km/h (70 mph)
1-minute sustained: 130 km/h (80 mph)
Lowest pressure975 hPa (mbar); 28.79 inHg
Fatalities167 total, 140 missing
Damage> $105 million (1993 USD)
Areas affectedCaroline Islands, Palau, Philippines
Part of the 1993 Pacific typhoon season

Severe Tropical Storm Nell, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Puring, was the last deadly storm of 1993 Pacific typhoon season to affect the country which killed 167 individuals in its path through southern Visayas and Surigao. Being the thirtieth named storm of the season, Nell formed on December 20 as a tropical depression, far to the southeast of Guam. Moving westwards, it passed near some reefs, islands, and atolls of Caroline Islands before it intensified to a tropical storm on December 24. It then passed near Palau before strengthening to a severe tropical storm, 24 hours later. It then reached its peak as it nears Mindanao before sweeping through the island, near Surigao City on December 26, not a day after Christmas Day. It turned north-northwest, bashing central Visayas for the fourth time in the season before weakening to a tropical storm as it encountered wind shear before its final landfall in Occidental Mindoro that night. Early the next day, Nell entered the South China Sea before taking a southwest track, just before weakening to a tropical depression due to the northeast monsoon. There, it slowed down and fluctuated in strength until it degenerated to a remnant low as it passed through the Spratly Islands. It remained weak until it dissipated on January 1 of the next year, remaining near Palawan.

No deaths and damages were recorded in Palau and Yap while catastrophic damage was reported in Visayas and Surigao Del Norte, Surigao Del Sur and Dinagat Islands in Mindanao. 167 individuals were killed, mainly are due to drowning and electrocution. Another 140 were missing, with the majority are due to a vessel accident. Widespread damages were also reported to farmlands and crops, while over 366,000 persons were evacuated to safe places, where they will celebrate Christmas. The total damages from the typhoon were estimated at $105 million (1993 USD).

Due to the aftermath of the typhoon, then-president Fidel V. Ramos declared a state of calamity over 11 provinces and 10 cities to speed recovery efforts. In January 1994, bodies were still being found.

Meteorological history

[edit]
Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Map key
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression

At 18:00 UTC of December 18, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) started to monitor an area of unsettled and scattered convection to the south of Pohnpei, located in a near-equatorial trough that spawned Lola, Manny and Oning.[1] At that time, the system was located in a marginally favorable environment, with warm sea surface temperatures and radial outflow, being offset by moderate to high wind shear.[2] Due to this environment, the disturbance remained disorganized and ill of convection as it moved to the west.

  1. ^ "IBTrACS - International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship". ibtracs.unca.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  2. ^ "1993 ANNUAL TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORT" (PDF). Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Retrieved 2021-04-13.