2003 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Maemi 2003
Typhoon Maemi struck South Korea in September 2003 after passing Miyako-jima near peak strength. Damage to Busan's port disrupted exports, while wind and flooding destroyed homes and crops across southern Korea.
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173 mph
Sep 10, 2003 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Peak strength near Miyako-jima
Maemi developed from a disturbance near Guam and moved northwest, becoming a typhoon in early September. It intensified as upper-level conditions improved, reaching peak one-minute winds of 150 kt on September 10. Its eyewall then passed over Miyako-jima, where observers measured a pressure of 912 hPa.
On Miyako-jima, strong winds damaged 104 buildings and left about 95 percent of residents without power. Rainfall reached 402.5 millimeters in 24 hours. One person died after airborne debris struck them, and two other deaths occurred elsewhere in Japan.
A destructive crossing of southern Korea
Warm water helped Maemi retain much of its strength as it turned north-northeast toward Korea. It made landfall just west of Busan on September 12 and crossed into the Sea of Japan, where it became extratropical the next day.
Across South Korea, Maemi killed 117 people, destroyed about 5,000 houses and damaged 13,000 homes and businesses. Around 1.47 million households lost electricity. Port damage restricted trade, while crop losses contributed to the poorest rice harvest in 23 years. Damage totaled ₩5.52 trillion in 2003 currency.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Maemi in brief
What was Typhoon Maemi's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 10, 2003, 12:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Maemi?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 9, 2003, 09:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Maemi's lowest pressure?
885 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 10, 2003, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Maemi occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 4, 2003, 12:00 AM UTC to Sep 16, 2003, 12:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 4, 2003, 12:00 AM UTC to Sep 13, 2003, 06:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Maemi form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 2003 season. Its first archived position is 9.9°N, 153.1°E on Sep 4, 2003, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Maemi make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 1 recorded position; the strongest is 109 mph on Sep 12, 2003, 12:00 PM UTC. Positions are six-hourly, so this is not a landfall chronology.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Category 5 refers to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology