The 31st named storm of the 2013 Pacific typhoon season, Podul developed as a tropical depression on November 11 between Palau and the Philippine island of Mindanao.

The system moved west-northwestward and struck Davao Oriental in Mindanao on November 12, bringing heavy rainfall that killed two people and disrupted relief efforts following Haiyan.

[5] Shortly thereafter, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) initiated advisories on Tropical Depression Zoraida after the system entered its area of responsibility of the agency.

At 1200 UTC the next day, the JMA upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Podul about 275 km (171 mi) east of the Vietnam coast.

[8] Around the same time, the JTWC began issuing warnings on the system as a tropical depression 32W, noting that convection had rapidly increased over the circulation.

[14] Late on November 14, Podul made landfall in southeastern Vietnam near Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm and quickly weakened into a tropical depression.

[17] The remnants later redeveloped into Severe Cyclonic Storm Helen in the Bay of Bengal, which later struck southeastern India on November 22 before dissipating.

[18] The Guam National Weather Service warned of the potential of heavy rainfall and high surf for Palau and nearby Yap island.

[26] The rains caused flooding that forced over 78,000 people to flee their homes, including 1,400 the resort town Hội An where floodwaters reached 1.6 m (5.2 ft) deep.