Ride along as a typhoon brushes an invisible fence.
Cempaka is the record 32nd named storm of 2026. For seven hours it belonged to the Philippines, under a second name: Samuel.
Not a video - a real map driven by a timeline you can scrub. Storm positions come from PAGASA and JMA bulletins; anything still ahead is marked as forecast.
The swirl and wind ring are artist's impressions; positions are from bulletins.
What this is
The short life of Typhoon Cempaka - Samuel in the Philippines - told on the map it happened over. Formed northwest of the Marianas on November 7, 2026, it clipped the corner of the Philippine Area of Responsibility for seven hours on November 9, peaked over open water, and is forecast to fade into the Pacific without ever threatening land.
Good to know
- Positions at bulletin times are official readings; the motion between them is interpolated.
- The swirling marker and its wind ring are artist's impressions. Wind-reach figures (300-350 km) are from PAGASA bulletins.
- Everything past the morning of November 11 (PHT) is the PAGASA forecast of November 9, drawn dashed.
- Closest pass to land: about 1,370 km east-northeast of extreme Northern Luzon. No tropical cyclone wind signals were raised.
The machinery of a record season
- 32 named storms by November 9 - the first time a 32nd storm has formed since 1994. The old century record was 31, in 2013. A typical year sees 24.3.
- China's National Climate Center ties the count partly to a super El Niño: the subtropical high sat about 2° of latitude north of normal from August to October, opening a formation corridor.
- 23 storms formed between July and October; nine between September 1 and November 9, six of them super typhoons. None made landfall in China.
- Cempaka was the Philippines' 19th cyclone inside the PAR this year - and the first of November.
Steps
Before you rely on it
This is a retrospective story, not a forecast and not a warning. For current tropical cyclone warnings in the Philippines, go to PAGASA. Internationally: JMA and JTWC. Forecast points here are PAGASA's November 9 outlook and will drift from what actually happened.
Reference
- PAGASA Tropical Cyclone Bulletin No. 1, 11:00 AM Nov 9 (PDF) - entry into the PAR, position 23.9°N 134.7°E at 10 AM, 120 km/h, 980 hPa, wind reach 300 km, and the name "Samuel".
- PAGASA Tropical Cyclone Bulletin No. 2F, 5:00 PM Nov 9 (PDF) - exit from the PAR at 4 PM, 24.1°N 135.1°E, 130 km/h, 975 hPa, wind reach 350 km, and the forecast track used for the dashed segment.
- Rappler, Nov 10 - entry 8:40 AM and exit 4 PM on Nov 9 (seven hours inside), 19th cyclone of 2026 and first of November, 155 km/h winds on the morning of Nov 10, amihan over Luzon, El Niño context.
- China Daily, Nov 11 - China Meteorological Administration: 32nd named storm, first 32nd since 1994, previous record 31 in 2013, average 24.3, super El Niño and the displaced subtropical high.
- Talking Tropical Cyclones, Nov 7 - genesis northwest of the Marianas: 20.3°N 142.1°E, 80 km/h, 999 mb, 28°C sea surface, steering ridge.
- Weathernews, Nov 9 - JMA numbers: 65 kt, forecast peak 80 kt on Nov 10, severe tropical storm by Nov 12, depression by Nov 14.
- Digital Typhoon: Typhoon 202632 (Cempaka) - formed in the Mariana Islands on Nov 7 (JST); Cempaka is a fragrant flowering plant, a name contributed by Malaysia.
- PAGASA - Philippine Area of Responsibility and PAGASA - Philippine tropical cyclone names - the boundary coordinates and the local naming scheme.
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors; tile style by the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, hosted by OpenStreetMap France. Map library: Leaflet.