Typhoon Rammasun

Typhoon Rammasun, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Glenda, was a powerful typhoon that was one of the only four Category 5 super typhoons on record in the South China Sea, with the other ones being Pamela in 1954, Rai in 2021 and Yagi in 2024. Rammasun had destructive impacts across the Philippines, South China, and Vietnam in mid July 2014. It was the strongest typhoon to hit the Chinese province of Hainan since Damrey in 2005. After Lingling and Kajiki earlier in 2014, Rammasun became the third tropical cyclone, and first typhoon to directly impact the Philippines in 2014. The ninth named storm and the third typhoon of the annual typhoon season, Rammasun formed in the Intertropical Convergence Zone, an area near the equator where the northeast and southeast trade winds come together, and slowly drifted northwest. Having passed through the islands of Micronesia, the system turned west and quickly moved under the influence of a subtropical ridge (STR). Rammasun posed a significant threat to Luzon, as it was expected to reach typhoon intensity before making landfall there. Though initially forecast to make landfall in Cagayan Valley, the storm followed a more westerly path and was later forecast to make landfall in Rapu-Rapu, Albay in Bicol Region and then pass through Bataan and Zambales before brushing past Metro Manila. In preparation for the storm, Governor of Guam Eddie Calvo declared the island in Condition of Readiness 3 and later upgraded it to Condition of Readiness 1. On July 11, NASA satellites revealed Rammasun passing directly over Guam. The American National Weather Service stated that an unexpected rise in wind shear kept the system from intensifying much further before reaching Guam. Rammasun only made landfall on Guam as a tropical depression, with winds much weaker than earlier anticipated. However, under...