Latest Storm News from the Philippine Meteorological Agency (PAGASA) reports that two low-pressure systems near the South China Sea have merged in the northern part of the Philippine Sea, while the third low-pressure system farther east of the Philippines has strengthened into a tropical depression.
At 4:00 PM on August 7, the tropical depression is located outside the Philippine area of responsibility, approximately 2,105 kilometers east-northeast of Northern Luzon. The maximum sustained winds are 55 km/h, with gusts reaching up to 70 km/h.
The latest storm forecast from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the US Air Force and US Navy indicates that this tropical depression is 06W, located east of the Philippines.
Forecasters predict that this tropical depression will officially strengthen into a tropical storm at 7:00 PM on August 7.
In the following days, the latest tropical storm in the western Pacific is expected to continuously strengthen to typhoon level, with winds reaching up to 100 km/h by August 10.
When it strengthens into a typhoon, this system will be given the international name Maria - the fifth typhoon in the northwestern Pacific during the 2024 typhoon season.
Related to the typhoon season in the Pacific, a rare phenomenon occurred in the eastern Pacific this week when four tropical storms formed simultaneously.
The four tropical storms moving in the eastern Pacific include Carlotta, Daniel, Emilia, and Fabio. The last time this phenomenon occurred was 50 years ago, in August 1974. In 2018, several storms moved in the warm waters of the Pacific, but not at the same intensity.
However, according to the latest storm forecast from The Weather Network, this rare phenomenon only lasted for a few hours on August 5, as storm number 4 Daniel weakened into a tropical depression and storm number 3 Carlotta weakened shortly after.
The latest storm forecast from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts that storm number 6 Fabio may be absorbed by storm number 5 Emilia on August 7 due to the Fujiwhara effect. This effect occurs when two storms move in the same direction and approach each other.
All tropical storms forming in the eastern Pacific are expected to have no impact on land.
Aletta is the first storm of the Eastern Pacific Typhoon Season formed on July 4. From July 4 to 24, no storms formed in the region, but after that, tropical storms intensified, with storms Bud, Carlotta, Daniel, Emilia, and Fabio successively strengthening. Storm Fabio is the sixth storm of the Eastern Pacific Typhoon Season.
