Typhoon Pamela (1976)

Typhoon Pamela

Category 4 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Image of Pamela near Guam
Formed	May 14, 1976
Dissipated	June 1, 1976
(Extratropical after May 27)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 240 km/h (150 mph)
Lowest pressure	920 hPa (mbar); 27.17 inHg
Fatalities	11 total
Damage	$500 million (1976 USD)
Areas affected	Caroline Islands, Chuuk, Guam, Saipan, Iwo Jima
Part of the 1976 Pacific typhoon season

Typhoon Pamela was a powerful typhoon that struck the U.S. territory of Guam in May 1976, causing about $500 million in damage (USD). The sixth named storm and third typhoon of the 1976 Pacific typhoon season, Pamela developed on May 14 from a trough in the Federated States of Micronesia in the area of the Nomoi Islands. It executed a counterclockwise loop and slowly intensified, bringing heavy rains to the islands in the region. Ten people died on Chuuk due to a landslide. After beginning a steady northwest motion toward Guam, Pamela attained its peak winds of 240 km/h (150 mph).

On May 21, the large eye of the typhoon crossed Guam, producing typhoon-force winds (greater than 118 km/h or 73 mph) for a period of 18 hours. An estimated 80% of the buildings on the island were damaged to some degree, including 3,300 houses that were destroyed. Pamela's slow motion produced 856 mm (33.7 in) of rainfall, making May 1976 the wettest on record in Guam. Despite the high damage, well-executed warnings kept the death toll to only one. After affecting the island, the typhoon weakened and turned northeastward, passing near Iwo Jima before becoming an extratropical cyclone.

The origins of Typhoon Pamela were from a tropical disturbance that persisted in the eastern end of the equatorial trough on May 13. At the time, it was located about 425 km (265 mi) north of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia. The disturbance was initially difficult to locate as it tracked generally to the south and southwest, a motion caused by a southward-moving tropical upper tropospheric trough. On May 14, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) indicated that the system developed into a tropical cyclone. That same day, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) followed suit and classified it as Tropical Depression 06W. The next day, data from the Typhoon Chasers indicated that the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Pamela. It was able to intensify after the trough receded northward, developing outflow. The storm turned to the south and east, gradually executing a counterclockwise loop through the FSM. This was due to a building ridge between Pamela and Typhoon Olga to its west. On May 16, observations from Satawan in the Caroline Islands indicated that Pamela attained typhoon status, which is a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of at least 118 km/h (74 mph). This was confirmed the next day by the Typhoon Chasers.