A tropical disturbance developed east-southeast of
Guam on October 11, just four days after
Typhoon Zeb originated in the same area. The American-based
Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a
tropical cyclone formation alert on October 12, indicating
development was imminent. However, the system did not develop into a tropical depression until 06:00
UTC on October 14, based on analysis from the
Japan Meteorological Agency – the official
warning center for the western
Pacific Ocean. Three hours later, the JTWC began tracking the system as Tropical Depression 20W. The nascent depression moved generally westward toward the
Philippines. Initially, development was hindered by the
outflow from Typhoon Zeb, which had struck
Luzon and was moving northward. On October 17, a
tropical upper tropospheric trough to the northeast weakened the
subtropical ridge, causing Babs to slow and drift to the south; the same trough restricted outflow, causing the circulation to become exposed from the
convection. The trough weakened and the shear decreased on October 18, allowing the storm to restrengthen. On October 19, a ship in the proximity of Babs reported 10‑minute winds of , indicating that the storm was intensifying. At 00:00 UTC that day, the JTWC upgraded the storm to typhoon status, and the JMA followed suit 18 hours later. Babs
explosively intensified subsequently as it developed a well-defined
eye in diameter. At 12:00 UTC on October 20, the JMA assessed that the typhoon reached peak 10‑minute winds of , while the JTWC estimated peak 1‑minute winds of 250 km/h (155 mph) with a minimum
barometric pressure of , making Babs an unofficial
super typhoon. The
gale-force winds extended northeast from the center, while the strongest winds extended from the eye. Around the time of peak intensity, Babs made
landfall on the Philippine island of
Catanduanes, where a weather station recorded a pressure of in
Virac. However, the official lowest pressure from the JMA was . The winds decreased slightly as Babs moved across Catanduanes, although it soon moved over open waters into
Lamon Bay, where it struck
Polillo Island. According to the JTWC, Babs had weakened to winds of on October 22 before quickly re-intensifying to winds of as it approached Luzon. At 18:00 UTC on October 22, Babs made landfall on Luzon about south of
Baler, or south of where Zeb struck only eight days prior. The typhoon weakened further while crossing central Luzon, and it passed about north of
Metro Manila before emerging into the
South China Sea on October 23. By that time, the JMA had downgraded Babs to a tropical storm, although the agency soon re-upgraded the storm to typhoon status. For several days, Babs remained at the same intensity, sporting an eye with a wide area of gale-force winds. A trough gradually steered the storm toward the north, weakening the ridge. The same trough caused an increase in
wind shear that led to Babs weakening. The storm reached its westernmost point on October 25 – about southeast of
Hong Kong. Turning northeastward into the
Taiwan Strait, even stronger wind shear caused Babs to fall apart, and the storm weakened into a tropical depression just off the southeast coast of
China. On October 27, the JMA declared Babs as
extratropical. The remnants accelerated to the northeast, passing south of
Kyushu before dissipating on October 30. == Preparations ==