2018 Pacific Typhoon Season (Garfield/Bob/Chap/Gary/Roussil)

The 2018 Pacific Typhoon Season was one of the quietest typhoon seasons on record. Although the season featured a slightly above average number of tropical storms (29), nearly all of the storms that formed were weak. Only six typhoons formed, and no super typhoons formed. This season was the first West Pacific season since 1977 without a Category 5 super typhoon, and the first since 1974 with no super typhoons at all. On top of all this, it was the first typhoon season on record without a Typhoon exceeding Category 3 status.

Severe Tropical Storm Maria
On May 30, the JMA designated a small low pressure system over the open Western Pacific a tropical depression. The depression was classified as Tropical Depression 13W by the JTWC at 12:00 UTC on May 31. Despite being forecast to become a typhoon for nearly all of its life, the depression struggled to organize due to dry air and moderate westerly wind shear; however, it finally developed into a tropical storm at 18:00 UTC on June 2 and was named Maria by the JMA at that time. Shortly after becoming named, strong westerly shear exposed Maria's low level circulation, and Maria weakened back to a tropical depression at 12:00 UTC on June 3. Although global models predicted Maria would develop into a strong typhoon by the time it reached the subtropical Western Pacific, wind shear did not decrease at all for the next several days and Maria remained a tropical depression, nearly degenerating into a remnant low several times. Wind shear finally decreased slightly on June 9, allowing Maria to regain tropical storm status by 06:00 UTC on June 10. Even though shear decreased briefly, Maria struggled with dry stable air and only strengthened slowly. Maria strengthened to its peak intensity with maximum winds (both 1 and 10-minute sustained) of 70 mph at 12:00 UTC on June 13; however, most of this strengthening was caused by baroclinic processes. Maria then transitioned into an extratropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds six hours later, having never reached typhoon intensity despite being forecast to do so much of its life. The extratropical remnants of Maria dissipated two days later, near eastern Russia.