Tropical Storm Wukong (2006) - Meteorological History

Meteorological History

On August 12, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) began monitoring a tropical depression located to the south of Chichi-jima island. The depression formed within a monsoonal gyre which also spawned Tropical Storm Sonamu. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) classified the system as Tropical Depression 11W several hours after the JMA while the system was located about 140 km (85 mi) south of Iwo Jima. The depression gradually strengthened as it moved towards the northwest. Early on August 13, it was upgraded to a tropical storm and given the name Wukong; a name which was contributed by China. The names means "the king of the monkeys" and was featured in the novel Journey to the West. The storm slowed significantly as a ridge built eastward over Japan. On August 14, Wukong turned towards the northeast and reached its peak intensity with winds of 95 km/h (60 mph ) as a severe tropical storm.

At the same time, the JTWC assessed Wukong to have reached its initial peak intensity with winds of 95 km/h (60 mph ). The next day, the storm began to accelerate due to an interaction with the nearby Tropical Storm Sonamu. Wukong absorbed the weakening Sonamu later in the day before turning towards the west. On August 16, the storm turned towards the northwest due to a weakness in the ridge near Japan. Wukong made landfall late on August 17 near Miyazaki City in southern Kyūshū. As the storm made landfall, the JTWC assessed Wukong to have winds of 100 km/h (65 mph ). The cyclone slowly traveled across land, entering the Sea of Japan about 24 hours after landfall. Several hours after entering the Sea of Japan, the JMA downgraded Wukong to a tropical depression. The depression persisted for two more days before dissipating near the Russian coastline.