2018 Supertyphoons: A Comparison of Precipitation Estimates across the Western Pacific

Flooding, landslides, runoff, sedimentation, and water contamination are only a few of the major effects that heavy precipitation cause during and following a typhoon. Within the Western Pacific, many countries and small islands are decimated when a typhoon moves through the area. Citizens of these small island communities and even larger countries, often do not have the ability to move inland and evacuate. The need to better understand precipitation patterns and amounts during a typhoon is made even more critical with the recent Super Typhoon Mangkhut hitting Guam, Marshall Islands, and the Philippines during September, 2018 and Super Typhoon Maria impacting China, Ryuku Islands, Taiwan, and Guam in July, 2018. Stronger than Hurricane Florence, Super Typhoon Mangkhut caused widespread flooding and landslides. According to NOAA’s Hurricane Research Center, Super Typhoon Maria is on record as one of the fastest tropical storms to Category 5 progressions for the Western Pacific Ocean.

Our study focuses on comparing precipitation during typhoons occurring in the Western Pacific in 2018 using estimates from NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM). Analysis includes mapping the difference between precipitation estimates by typhoon and across all typhoons during the 2018 season. While emphasis will be on the 2018 super typhoons, comparisons of precipitation duration, amount, and extent will be made with typhoons over the past nineteen years to better understand any the patterns and trends. Using a subset of thirty typhoons since 2000, the average total precipitation per day has increased while the total precipitation during typhoons have decreased. This ultimately means heavier rainfall in shorter time spans. This study will present these keys findings within the frame of the recent super typhoons (Maria, Mangkhut, and Trami) and provide more in-depth societal effects from the experienced heavy precipitation.