The latest storm and low pressure news on the afternoon of July 13th from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that the tropical depression located northeast of Palau has strengthened into a tropical storm. The latest storm is internationally named Haishen, storm number 10 named in the Western Pacific Basin (WPAC) in the 2026 storm season.
To date, this is the 3rd highest number of storms in this basin, equal to 1965 and the highest number of storms since 2015. Storm name "Haishen" is given by China and means "sea god" in Mandarin.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) classifies this system as a tropical depression. The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) still classifies this system as a low pressure, naming it 97W.
Both PAGASA and JTWC predict that this system will enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) in the period from the evening of July 13 to the morning of July 14. After entering PAR, the system is named Josie locally.
Typhoon forecasters from many agencies all predict that tropical storm Haishen is offshore and is expected not to affect any mainland areas. The latest storm formed immediately after storm Ba Vi is expected to only exist for a short time, possibly lasting 2-3 days before dissipating.
According to PAGASA's midday typhoon bulletin on July 13, tropical depression Haishen is 1,265km east of Eastern Visayas, Philippines. The maximum sustained wind is 55 km/h near the center, gusts up to 70 km/h and central pressure is 1,006 hPa. Haishen is moving west-northwest at a speed of 30 km/h with strong winds spreading up to 480km from the center.
PAGASA predicts that Haishen will continue to move west-northwest in the next 12 hours, entering PAR on the evening of July 13th or the morning of July 14th. When in PAR, the storm will move north, then turn north-northeast until it leaves PAR on July 15th.
Philippine typhoon forecasters note that Typhoon Haishen may strengthen into a tropical storm within the next 12 hours, then gradually weaken due to unfavorable weather conditions.
