Oscillation in frequency of tropical cyclones passing Taiwan and Hainan Islands and the relationship with summer monsoon

Abstract

The temporal variations in the frequency of tropical cyclones (TCs) traversing the Taiwan and Hainan Islands (TH islands), were analyzed using a best-track TC dataset from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center for the period 1945–2007. Results show that the oscillations were interannual and interdecadal on the timescales of 2–8 and 8–12 years, respectively. It is also shown that the number of TCs formed in the western North Pacific basin (WNP) and of those traversing the TH islands varied intraseasonally. These results also held for typhoons traversing the TH islands, although the oscillations were less apparent. This study identified interrelationships between the frequency of TCs making landfall on the TH islands and the East Asia summer monsoon (EASM), the South Asia summer monsoon (SASM), and the South China Sea summer monsoon (SCSSM). The SCSSM significantly influenced the number of TCs traversing Hainan Island, but had little influence on the number of TCs traversing Taiwan Island. By contrast, the SASM influenced the numbers of TCs traversing both of the TH islands, shown by correlation coefficients of 0.41 for Taiwan Island and −0.25 for Hainan Island. In addition, the frequency of TC landfall on Taiwan Island increased during years of enhanced EASM, as indicated by a correlation coefficient of 0.4.