The Climatological Characteristics of the Landfall Typhoons on North Korea

In this study, the climatological characteristics of the landfall typhoons on North Korea are surveyed to estimate the frequency, the intensity, the track, and their damage. The data for the period of 1951-2008 are used from both RSMC (Regional Specialized Meteorological Center) Tokyo Typhoon Center and NCEP/NCAR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research), EM-DAT (Emergency Events Database). There are the ten highest frequencies from 1961 to 1965 and is one frequency for the period of both 1966-1979 and 1976-1980 respectively. Even if a clear trend on the frequency of typhoon is not defined, it is noticeable the intensity has been weak since the frequency of TS (Tropical Storm) decreased. In order to figure out both the characteristic of intensity and the relation between the typhoon track and the expansion of North Pacific High (NPH), Typhoon's tracks are classified into three types as follows: (I) landing on the west coast of North Korea through the mainland of China, (II) landing on the west coast of North Korea, ( III) landing on a central/eastern part of the Korean peninsula through South Korea. More often than not, the characteristic of Type (I) is the case of a landfall after it becomes extratropical cyclone. Type(II) and Type( III) show a landfall as TS grade, by comparision. On the relation between the typhoon's track and the expansion of NPH analyzed, Type (I) shows the westward expansion while both Type (II) and Type ( III) show the northward expansion and development of NPH. This means the intensity of a typhoon landfall on North Korea is variable depending on the development of NPH.