Typhoon Kujira, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Amang, was a long-lived tropical cyclone that lasted for 16 days and affected the island nations of Micronesia, Taiwan, and Japan in April 2003, as well as the earliest typhoon in a calendar year to ever make landfall on the latter. Forming from a broad area of disturbed weather as a tropical depression on April 9 well removed from any landmasses, Kujira quickly intensified in its early stages, and was upgraded to a tropical storm just two days after cyclogenesis. Strengthening slowed afterwards, though the storm attained typhoon intensity on April 14. Intensification continued and late on April 15, Kujira reached its peak intensity with winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of 930 mbar (hPa; 27.46 inHg). Following peak intensity, Kujira began to track northwest and oscillate in strength, cresting an additional two times in intensity. On April 21, the typhoon was downgraded to tropical storm intensity and began to track erratically for several days east of Taiwan. However, on April 24, Kujira resumed a northward track and begin to weaken, and on April 24 was downgraded to tropical depression strength as it made landfall on Kyushu. Following landfall Kujira transitioned into an extratropical cyclone and continued to persist before these extratropical remnants crossed the International Dateline towards the end of April 2003.
Shortly after developing, Kujira caused two fatalities in Pohnpei in addition to minor agricultural and infrastructure damage; similar effects were felt in Guam. Several days later, the typhoon prompted cyclone warnings and other precautionary measures in the Philippines after forecasts indicated the potential for strong winds and rain. However, effects on the island chain associated with the storm remained minimal. The typhoon also prompted warning products in Taiwan, making it the first April typhoon since 1978 to cause such a feat. Unlike in the Philippines, however, Kujira would bring significant rainfall to Taiwan. Effects from the typhoon were most significant in Japan, particularly in the Ryukyu Islands. Strong winds, rain, and waves caused US$230,000 (¥27.8 million) in agricultural damage on Ishigaki Island. One person was killed due to injuries resulting from the waves. In Kyushu, heavy rainfall, peaking at in Ōita Prefecture, was reported. Overall, despite its distance away from land and weak intensity at the time of its sole landfall, Kujira resulted in three fatalities.
Meteorological history
The systems that would develop into Typhoon Kujira began as a broad area of convection on April 6 centered south of Pohnpei and near the equator. At the time, the area of disturbed weather exhibited multiple circulation centers, and thus the system remained generally disorganized. On April 8, however, the convection began to consolidate towards a common center within an area of low wind shear. As such, both the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) classified the storm system as a tropical depression at 0000 UTC on April 9. For much of the cyclone's early existence, the low-level circulation center remained east of the primary convection cell as it tracked northward. Nonetheless, the JTWC upgraded the depression to tropical storm intensity just six hours after cyclogenesis, while the JMA continued to classify the system as a tropical depression.