PAGASA redefines ‘super typhoon,’ amends tropical wind signals

PAGASA on Wednesday announced a new minimum wind speed for super typhoons and modified the country’s tropical cyclone wind system (TCWS).

The state weather bureau said a “super typhoon” should pack maximum sustained winds of at least 185 kilometers per hour, down from the previous rate of 220 kph.

The earlier minimum wind speed requirement for a super typhoon was higher than those of neighbors Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and China.

PAGASA also modified the TCWS which now corresponds to the following categories:

• SIGNAL NUMBER 5 (Super Typhoon)
  • New: 185 km/h or higher
  • Old: Greater than 220 km/h
• SIGNAL NUMBER 4 (Typhoon)
  • New: 118 to 184 km/h
  • Old: 171 to 220 km/h
• SIGNAL NUMBER 3 (Severe Tropical Storm)
  • New: 89 to 117km/h
  • Old: 121 to 170 km/h
• SIGNAL NUMBER 2 (Tropical Storm)
  • New: 62 to 88 km/h
  • Old: 61 to 120 km/h
• SIGNAL NUMBER 1 (Tropical Depression)
  • New: 39 to 61 km/h
  • Old: 30 to 60 km/h

The weather bureau also decommissioned the names of three destructive storms that hit the country in 2021: Jolina, Maring, and Odette. It will be replaced by Jacinto, Mirasol, and Opong, respectively, and will be used in 2025.

A total of 47 names have been decommissioned since 2001, PAGASA said. — Sundy Locus/BM, GMA News