Meteorological History
A disturbance 180 miles northeast of Ponape formed on July 31 and moved westward as it continued to strengthen, becoming Tropical Depression 13W on August 3. Interacting with a subtropical ridge to the north, the tropical depression turned sharply northeast and passed over Saipan before strengthening into Tropical Storm Billie.
Driven by a high pressure system and a trough, Billie then turned to the southwest and then westward and became a typhoon on August 5. On August 7, Typhoon Billie underwent rapid intensification, reaching a maximum intensity of 140 mph (125 knots).
By August 12, the tropical cyclone had encountered wind shear which weakened the storm before it hit Taiwan as a Category 1 typhoon and China as a tropical storm. Billie then dissipated after landfall.
Read more about this topic: Typhoon Billie (1976)
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