Tropical storm PABUK crossed southern peninsula of Thailand on January 04th, 2019. The highest impact was caused
in Nakhonsi Thammarat with rainfall amounts of 270.5 mm in 24 hours and gusts of up to 89 kph.
Development
The storm developed on the boundary between the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, with water temperatures
ranging from 27 to 28°C. Driven by a subtropical high-pressure ridge in the northeast, the storm moved west-northwest
with speeds of about 10 kn.
On its way, the storm intensified from a tropical depression (January 01st: wind up to 60 kph) to a tropical storm
(January 04th: wind up to 95 kph).
With a core pressure of around 998 hPa the storm made Landfall on January 04th at 12 UTC on the east coast of southern
Thailand between Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat. From January 5th the storm weakened rapidly due to strong vertical wind shear.
Effects
Due to high wind speeds and waves of up to 5 m, some airports and shipping companies had to stop operating.
The gusts of wind caused overturned trees and power pylons and thus errors in the power network. The abundant rainfall
resulted in flooded streets and houses and isolated Landslides.
As a result of early and consistent evacuation efforts, the overall damage was rather low.
Selected measurements:
Location |
Wind Gusts in kph |
Date |
Nakhonsi Thammarat
Ko Samui
Phatthalung Agromet
Hat Yai Airport
Sa Dao
Phra Sang
Surat Thani
Kho Hong Agromet
Phuket
Ko Samui
Suvarnabhumi Airport
|
89.0
81.5
59.3
46.3
38.9
38.9
38.9
35.2
35.2
63.0
44.5
|
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 05th
January 05th
|
|
Location |
24 h Precipitation in mm |
Date |
Nakhonsi Thammarat
Surat Thani Agromet
Ko Samui
Chawang
Phra Sang
Surat Thani
Sawi Agromet
Phuket Airport
Phatthalung Agromet
Sawi Agromet
Narathiwat
|
270.5
124.9
232.4
108.7
78.5
69.0
68.6
54.9
54.6
140.4
24.2
|
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 04th
January 05th
January 05th
|
|
Source: Thai Meteorological Department
Text: FS Jan 06th, 2019
|