Hurricane Ioke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Typhoon (JMA) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 5 hurricane (SSHS) | |||
 Ioke as a hurricane east of the date line on August 24, 2006. |
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| Formed | August 19, 2006 | ||
| Dissipated | September 7, 2006 | ||
| Highest winds |
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| Lowest pressure | 920 hPa (mbar) (Lowest ever recorded in the Central Pacific) |
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| Fatalities | None | ||
| Damage | Unknown | ||
| Areas affected |
Johnston Atoll, Wake Island, Minami Torishima, southwestern and south-central Alaska | ||
| Part of the 2006 Pacific hurricane season and the 2006 Pacific typhoon season |
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Hurricane Ioke (was also Typhoon Ioke, international designation: 0612, JTWC designation: 01C, and sometimes called Super Typhoon Ioke) is the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Central Pacific. The first storm to form in the Central Pacific in the 2006 Pacific hurricane season, Ioke was a record breaking, long-lived and extremely powerful storm that traversed the Pacific, reaching Category 5 status twice as a hurricane. As a typhoon, Ioke managed to achieve Category 5-equivalent one-minute sustained winds one more time before weakening.
Ioke did not affect any permanently populated areas in the Central Pacific or Western Pacific basins as a hurricane or a typhoon, but the storm passed over Johnston Atoll as a Category 2 hurricane and passed near Wake Island as a Category 4 typhoon. Despite its strength, Ioke only caused moderate damage to Wake Island, and was not responsible for any fatalities. Later, the extratropical remnants of Ioke produced a severe storm surge along the Alaskan coastline, causing beach erosion.
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[edit] Storm history
The system began in the third week of August as a persistent tropical disturbance south of the Hawaiian Islands. It was initially embedded in a trough, but gained convection and developed into a tropical depression about 775 miles south of Honolulu on August 19. It continued to strengthen, and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center designated the system with the name Ioke (IPA /iːˈəʊ.keɪ/), which is Hawaiian for the name Joyce,[1] becoming the first tropical storm to form in the Central Pacific since 2002.
Ioke quickly began to enter a process of rapid development; strengthening into a hurricane just 24 hours after it had formed. While safely avoiding the Hawaiian Islands, it continued to rapidly intensify and became a major hurricane (Category 3 or greater) on the morning of August 21. Later that day, Ioke intensified even further into a Category 4 hurricane. On August 22, it began to weaken as a result of cooler water and eyewall replacement cycles, and was downgraded back to a Category 2. As a Category 2 storm, Ioke affected Johnston Atoll.
The storm began to rapidly deepen again late on August 23 as it moved over increasingly warm water, reaching major hurricane status for the second time while moving to the west-northwest. From there, conditions would become even more favorable for development.
Overnight between August 24 and August 25, Ioke strengthened rapidly, becoming a Category 5 hurricane on the 25th - the first system originating from the Central Pacific to reach that intensity while still in the Western Hemisphere. Ioke then began to travel over a large environment highly favorable for hurricane development, and would maintain its strength for an extended period of time. Ioke also became the most intense hurricane ever to develop in the Central Pacific, with a central pressure of 921 mbar (27.19 inHg) at that point (which dropped to 920 mbar at its Central Pacific peak).
Ioke began to fluctuate in intensity afterward; weakened back to a Category 4 while undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle, regaining Category 5 strength on August 26. Ioke held that intensity until crossing the International Date Line that evening (August 27 after the crossover), becoming Typhoon Ioke in the process. The storm weakened to Category 4 strength according to the JTWC, but by 2100 UTC on August 29, the JTWC advised that Ioke had regained Category 5 strength for the third time.
After maintaining Category 5 strength for 12 hours, Ioke weakened back to a Category 4 for the final time on August 30 while approaching Wake Island. Ioke passed almost directly over the island on early September 1 and continued tracking to the west-northwest while slowly weakening over gradually cooling waters. On September 3, under the influence of an approaching trough, the typhoon began to recurve to the northwest, then to the north and away from Japan, while weakening more rapidly. Ioke began to transition into an extratropical storm late on September 4 due to increased wind shear and rapidly cooling seas, and the JTWC issued its last advisory at 1200 UTC on September 5 after it was decided that Ioke had begun extratropical transition. The JMA followed suit early on September 7 after Ioke had become completely extratropical east of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
[edit] Records
| Category 5 Pacific hurricanes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Season | Name | Season |
| Patsy | 1959 | Guillermo | 1997 |
| "Mexico" | 1959 | Linda | 1997 |
| Ava | 1973 | Elida | 2002 |
| Emilia | 1994 | Hernan | 2002 |
| Gilma | 1994 | Kenna | 2002 |
| John | 1994 | Ioke | 2006 |
| Main article: List of Category 5 Pacific hurricanes | |||
- Ioke was the first Category 5 hurricane ever to form in the Central Pacific and reach that intensity while still in the Central Pacific.
- Ioke was the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Central Pacific with an estimated minimum central pressure of 920 mbar (27.179 inHg).[2]
- Ioke tied Hurricane Emilia of 1994 by reaching Category 5 status twice as hurricanes in the northern Pacific east of the International Date Line. Ioke would go on to restrengthen to a Category 5-equivalent typhoon.
- Ioke spent longer at Category 4 and higher than any other hurricane or typhoon with a total of 36 (33 consecutive) 6-hourly reports at that strength. The previous records were held by 2004's Hurricane Ivan with 33 (32 consecutive) and 1997's Typhoon Paka with 27 (25 consecutive) 6-hourly reports.[3]
[edit] Preparations and impact
Due to Typhoon Ioke's projected path near Wake Island, all 188 people who live and work there were evacuated in two C-17 Globemaster IIIs to Oahu in Hawaii.[4] The JMA issued evacuation orders for its staff on Minami Torishima on September 1 in view of the approaching typhoon[5], but so far, no damage has been reported.
Despite Ioke's extreme intensity and impacting two small land masses, damage was surprisingly moderate. Little damage was done on Johnston Atoll, and damage to infrastructure on Wake Island was less than expected, although extensive, despite Ioke's eyewall brushing the island.
[edit] Johnston Atoll
The National Weather Service reported that the eastern eyewall of Ioke passed over the normally-uninhabited Johnston Atoll [6], buffeting it with hurricane-force winds.
Twelve people on a United States Air Force vessel in the Pacific were forced to abandon ship and take shelter in a hurricane-proof bunker on the island.[7] They were reported safe the next day, and a reconnaissance flight reported little damage on the island.[8]
[edit] Wake Island
The typhoon's powerful winds, estimated to gust as high as 190 mph, damaged weather sensors on the island, causing them to fail after the instruments reported a 100 mph gust.[9] A reconnaissance mission by the Coast Guard indicated the typhoon caused moderate damage on the island, including blown off roofs, damaged sides of buildings, and downed trees. However, the damage was repairable, and the major infrastructure on the island was intact.[10]
[edit] Alaska
The extratropical remnants of Ioke produced 25 foot waves and a severe storm surge along the western Alaskan coastline, resulting in severe beach erosion. The former typhoon produced heavy rainfall and 30 to 40 mph winds over the state on September 7.[11] Rainfall totaled to 1.15 inches in Bethel, and contributed to above normal rainfall totals for the month of September in Juneau.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Central Pacific Hurricane Center (August 3, 2005). Tropical Storm Ioke Discussion Number 2. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
- ^ Central Pacific Hurricane Center (2006-08-25). Public Information Statement. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
- ^ Best Track Data. NOAA. Retrieved on 2006-09-07.
- ^ [1]
- ^ (Japanese) http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/press/0609/01a/marcus.html
- ^ Central Pacific Hurricane Center (2006-08-22). Hurricane Ioke Discussion Number 14...Corrected. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved on 2006-08-24.
- ^ Leone, Diana. "Hawaiian-named storm hits Johnston Isle", Star Bulletin, 2006-08-23. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
- ^ Gima, Craig. "12 survive hurricane at Johnston Atoll", Star Bulletin, 2006-08-24. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
- ^ [2]
- ^ http://khon.com/khon/displayStory.cfm?storyID=15123
- ^ Angela Hutti. "Storm on the Bering Sea", KTVA 11. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ Cattle Network (2006). National Weather early for September 2006. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
[edit] See also
- 2006 Pacific hurricane season
- 2006 Pacific typhoon season
- List of Category 5 Pacific hurricanes
- List of notable tropical cyclones
[edit] External link
- The CPHC's archive on Hurricane Ioke
| The most powerful tropical cyclones by area of development or impact | ||||||||
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Australia |
Central Pacific |
East Pacific |
North Atlantic |
North Indian |
South Indian |
South Pacific |
West Pacific |
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Cyclone Inigo (2003) |
Hurricane Ioke (2006) |
Hurricane Linda (1997) |
Hurricane Wilma (2005) |
Cyclone 05B (1999) |
Cyclone Gafilo (2004) |
Cyclone Zoe (2002) |
Typhoon Tip (1979) |
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