The 2019 Pacific typhoon season was the costliest Pacific typhoon season on record, just ahead of the previous year. The season featured fairly above-average tropical cyclone activity for the second consecutive year, producing 29 named storms, 17 typhoons, and five super typhoons. The season's first named storm, Pabuk, reached tropical storm status on January 1, becoming the earliest-forming tropical storm of the western Pacific Ocean on record, breaking the previous record that was held by Typhoon Alice in 1979. The season's first typhoon, Wutip, reached typhoon status on February 20. Wutip further intensified into a super typhoon on February 23, becoming the strongest February typhoon on record, and the strongest tropical cyclone recorded in February in the Northern Hemisphere. The season's last named storm, Phanfone, dissipated on December 29 after it made landfall in the Philippines.
The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean to the north of the equator between 100°E and 180th meridian. Within the northwestern Pacific Ocean, two separate agencies assign names to tropical cyclones which can often result in a cyclone having two names. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) will name a tropical cyclone should it be judged to have 10-minute sustained wind speeds of at least anywhere in the basin, while the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) assigns names to tropical cyclones which move into or form as a tropical depression in their area of responsibility located between 135°E–115°E and between 5°N–25°N regardless of whether or not a tropical cyclone has already been given a name by the JMA. Tropical depressions that are monitored by the United States' Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) are given a number with a "W" suffix.
Seasonal forecasts
During the year, several national meteorological services and scientific agencies forecast how many tropical cyclones, tropical storms, and typhoons will form during a season and/or how many tropical cyclones will affect a particular country. These agencies included the Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) Consortium of University College London, PAGASA and Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau.
The first forecast of the year was released by PAGASA on February 7, within its seasonal climate outlook for the period January–June. The outlook noted that one to two tropical cyclones were expected between January and March, while two to four were expected to develop or enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility between April and June. Moreover, PAGASA predicts an 80% chance of a weak El Niño presence during February–March–April period. On May 7, the TSR issued their first forecast for the season, predicting that the 2019 season would be a slightly above average season, producing 27 named storms, 17 typhoons, and ten intense typhoons. One of the factors behind this is due to the possible development of a moderate El Niño anticipated within the third quarter of the year.
On July 5, the TSR released their second forecast for the season, now lowering their numbers and predicting that the season would be a below-average season with 25 named storms, 15 typhoons, and eight intense typhoons. The PAGASA issued their second forecast for the season on July 15, predicting six to nine tropical cyclones expected to develop or enter their area between July and September and about three to five tropical cyclones by September to December. The agency also predicted that the weak El Niño was expected to weaken towards neutral conditions by August and September 2019. On August 7, the TSR released their final forecast for the season, predicting a near-normal season with 26 named storms, 16 typhoons and eight intense typhoons.
Season summary
2019 was a fairly-above average season. It featured 50 tropical cyclones, 29 named storms, 17 that became typhoons and five became super typhoons. Throughout the year, there were at least 389 deaths from several storms, making the season the least deadly since 2015. A record of $34.14 billion in damages were recorded, making 2019 the costliest Pacific typhoon season on record, only surpassing with the previous season.