1980 Pacific typhoon season

A total of 28 tropical depressions formed this year in the Western Pacific, of which 24 became tropical storms. Of the 28, 15 storms reached typhoon intensity, of which 2 reached super typhoon strength. Seven tropical cyclones moved through the Philippines this season.

Severe Tropical Storm Carmen

On April 4, a tropical depression formed just east of the International Date Line. At the time, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) designated it tropical depression 02W. As it moved generally northwestwards, it strengthened into a tropical storm just before crossing the dateline, but only received a name in the northwest Pacific, being dasignated Carmen. After peaking with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) on April 6,Carmen recurved northeast and crossed the International Date Line, entering the central Pacific on April 7. The JTWC subsequently relinquished responsibility to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Carmen lost its initial motion and stalled in the area, ultimately weakening in to a tropical depression on April 8. The depression dissipated the following day and the remnant low returned to western Pacific.

Typhoon Joe (Nitang)

Typhoon Joe, which developed on July 16 from the near equatorial trough, hit eastern Luzon on the 20th. It weakened over island, but restrengthened in the South China Sea to a 100 mph typhoon before making landfall on Hainan Island on the 22nd. Joe made its final landfall that night on northern Vietnam before dissipating on the 23rd. Joe caused heavy damage and an estimated 19 deaths in the Philippines with many more in Vietnam. The exact numbers are unknown due to Typhoon Kim hitting just four days later.

Super Typhoon Kim (Osang)

Like Joe, Kim formed from the near equatorial trough on July 19. It tracked quickly westward, reaching tropical storm strength on the 21st and typhoon strength on the 23rd. Kim rapidly intensified on the 24th to a 150 mph Super Typhoon, but its inflow was cut off by the Philippines to the southwest. The typhoon weakened to 115 mph winds just before hitting eastern Luzon on the 25th, just days after Joe and a tropical depression hit the same area. Kim continued northwestward, but with its disrupted circulation, it remained a tropical storm until hitting southern China on the 27th, 90 miles northeast of Hong Kong. The typhoon brought torrential rains and massive flooding, causing only 15 deaths, moderate to heavy damage, and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. The exact totals are unknown, due to Joe and a Tropical Depression just days before.

Typhoon Orchid (Toyang)

The monsoon trough spawned a tropical depression on September 1. It tracked northwestward, remaining disorganized and dissipating on the 5th. Another tropical depression developed to the east of the old circulation, quickly becoming the primary circulation and intensifying to a tropical storm on the 6th. With generally weak steering currents, Orchid looped three times on its track, strengthening to a typhoon on the 9th and reaching a peak of 95 mph winds on the 10th. Early on the 11th the storm hit southwestern Japan, and became extratropical that day over the Japan Sea. Orchid caused considerable damage from high winds and rain, resulting in at least nine casualties with 112 missing. It was also responsible for the September 10th loss of the MV Derbyshire, a large 91,655 ton bulk carrier lost with all 44 hands on board.

Typhoon Percy (Undang)

Typhoon Percy struck southern Taiwan on September 18. A day later, with its circulation and low-level inflow greatly disrupted, 50 mph Tropical Storm Percy hit southeastern China, and dissipated later that night. 7 people died in the storm, with moderate damage on its path.

Severe Tropical Storm Ruth

A monsoon depression transitioned into a tropical depression on September 13 in the South China Sea. It initially moved southward, then turned to the west-northwest, reaching tropical storm strength late on the 13th. Ruth crossed Hainan Island on the 14th and 15th, becoming a typhoon late on the 15th before hitting northern Vietnam on the 16th. The typhoon left nearly half a million homeless, with 106 known dead or missing in Vietnam.

Typhoon Wynne (Welpring)

Wynne was the strongest storm of the season, reaching a peak of 175 mph (280 km/h) winds and a pressure of 890 mbar.

Tropical Storm Ed (Dorang)

A tropical disturbance was first observed near Yap on the 14th of December. The disturbance moved westward at between 12 and 15 kt (22 to 28 km/hr) as its convective activity and overall organization continued to improve. A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) was issued when a reconnaissance aircraft observed a well-defined low-level circulation with a minimum sea-level pressure of 1004 mb. The disturbance was upgraded to Tropical Storm Ed on December 15. It then became evident from synoptic analyses that Ed was moving into an area which was unfavorable for continued development. Eventually, after most of the storm's convection had been sheared off, Ed’s surface center began to track to the southwest under the influence of the strong surface ridge to the north. Dissipation as a tropical cyclone was completed on the 24th as the remnants of Ed moved into northern Mindanao.

Storm names

During the season 24 named tropical cyclones developed in the Western Pacific and were named by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, when it was determined that they had become tropical storms. These names were contributed to a revised list which started on 1979.

Philippines

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration uses its own naming scheme for tropical cyclones in their area of responsibility. PAGASA assigns names to tropical depressions that form within their area of responsibility and any tropical cyclone that might move into their area of responsibility. Should the list of names for a given year prove to be insufficient, names are taken from an auxiliary list, the first 6 of which are published each year before the season starts. Names not retired from this list will be used again in the 1984 season. This is the same list used for the 1976 season. PAGASA uses its own naming scheme that starts in the Filipino alphabet, with names of Filipino female names ending with "ng" (A, B, K, D, etc.). Names that were not assigned/going to use are marked in gray.