page_title: Typhoon Lynn (1987)
section_title: Meteorological history
hierarchical_section_title: Typhoon Lynn (1987) / Meteorological history
caption_attribution_description: Super Typhoon Lynn approaching the Philippines on October 21 at 0515 UTC. This image was produced from data from NOAA-9, provided by NOAA.
context_page_description: Typhoon Lynn, more commonly known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pepang, was responsible for the worst flooding in Taiwan in 40 years. Typhoon Lynn originated from an area of disturbed weather in the central north Pacific in mid-October 1987. On October 15, the system was upgraded into a tropical storm. Moving west-northwest, it slowly deepened over the next few days, though the intensification process briefly stopped on October 15. Two days later, Lynn was upgraded into a typhoon, while passing northwest of Guam. Lynn maintained low-end typhoon strength until October 19, when the storm began to rapidly intensify. On October 21, Lynn attained its peak intensity while tracking towards the west. Weakening then commenced soon after Lynn interacted with Luzon. However, the core of the typhoon remained well offshore both the Philippines and Taiwan. On October 25, Lynn weakened to a severe tropical storm. Three days later, it dissipated, though its remains later brought rain to China.
  While passing near Guam, power was knocked out and 40 residents were evacuated. Throughout the Mariana Islands, 15 families were rendered homeless and damage totaled $2 million.
context_section_description: Typhoon Lynn originated from a broad, poorly organized area of convection situated within the monsoon trough roughly 370 km (230 mi) north-northeast of the Marshall Islands in the middle of October 1987. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) started monitoring the system on October 14, and later that day, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) followed suit. Following an increase in convection and outflow, the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) for the system at 0300 UTC on October 15 about 670 km (415 mi) north-northwest of Pohnpei of the eastern Carolina Islands at the time. Three hours later, the JTWC classified the system as Tropical Storm Lynn based on Dvorak estimates of 65 km/h (40 mph). At midday, the JMA followed suit and upgraded the system into a tropical storm.
  Tracking along the southern periphery of a subtropical ridge, the cyclone decelerated. Lynn gradually intensified, though this process briefly halted on October 17. Early the next day, the JMA reported that Lynn had deepened into a severe tropical storm. Shortly thereafter, radar data and satellite imagery revealed the formation of an eye 37 km (23 mi) in diameter, and thus the JTWC upgraded Lynn into a typhoon, though post-storm analysis noted that Lynn could have been a typhoon before then. Also around this time, the JMA designated Lynn as a typhoon. At midday, Lynn made its closest approach to Guam, passing around 150 km (95 mi) northeast of the island. Three hours later, Lynn passed 28 km (17 mi) southwest of Tinian before proceeding west-northwest.
  After moving away from the Mariana Islands, Lynn initially maintained its intensity, but on August 19, it began to rapidly intensify. Later that day, the JTWC upgraded Lynn to a super typhoon and early on August 20, Typhoon Lynn attained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph) according to the JMA. After leveling off in intensity for roughly 24 hours, the JMA estimates that Lynn reached its peak intensity of 195 km/h (120 mph) and a minimum barometric pressure of 920 mbar (27 inHg). At 0000 UTC on August 21, the JTWC indicated that Lynn reached its peak intensity of 255 km/h (160 mph), equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. According to the JTWC, Typhoon Lynn was the third typhoon in 1987 to attain such intensity. Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) also monitored the storm and assigned it with the local name Pepang.
  Shortly after attaining maximum intensity, Lynn began to track westward while steadily weakening. Initially, the JTWC predicted Lynn to take a more west-northwesterly course, but the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) correctly predicted Lynn to move due west due to a subtropical ridge situated north of the cyclone. On October 22, the JMA indicated that Lynn leveled off in intensity, though at 0000 UTC on October 23, the cyclone deteriorated slightly. Roughly 24 hours later, the JMA reduced the intensity of Lynn to 145 km/h (90 mph); by this time, the typhoon entered the Luzon Straits. Over the next two days, Lynn interacted with mountainous terrain of the Philippines; however, at its closest approach, the core of the system remained over 200 km (120 mi) offshore. Meanwhile, the weakening process accelerated, and on October 25, the JMA reported that Lynn was no longer a typhoon. Furthermore, the storm exited PAGASA's warning zone. Increased wind shear took toll on Lynn, and the next day, satellite imagery indicated that all of the storm's deep convection was confined north-northeast of the center. At 0000 UTC on October 27, the JTWC ceased watching the system, though the JMA continued tracking it until the morning of August 28. The remnants of the storm later brought showers to China.
caption: Lynn near the Philippines.
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