A weak low pressure system developed in the Philippine Sea on July 7, which became a tropical depression on the next day.

After entering the South China Sea, the storm maintained most of its intensity as it approached Hainan, although agencies disagree on how precisely strong it was.

Heavy rains associated with Typhoon Eli deluged Luzon and resulted in mudslides surrounding Mount Pinatubo, which had erupted a year prior.

[3][nb 4] After tracking to the south of Guam, the disturbance accelerated west-northwest and increased in organization,[2] prompting JTWC to issue a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert at 11:02 UTC on July 9.

[2][5] The depression was upgraded to a tropical storm at 00:00 UTC on July 10 by both the JMA and JTWC as Eli's convective buildup continued.

After entering the South China Sea,[2] the typhoon tracked west[5] as its forward motion slowed in response to Eli nearing the western end of a subtropical ridge.

[2] Eli made landfall late on July 13 about 160 km (100 mi) east of Hanoi,[5] with the JMA estimating winds of 80 km/h (50 mph).

[2] Due to the impending threat of Eli, authorities raised typhoon alerts over wide areas of the southern Bicol region and across Luzon.

[8][9] Officials evacuated 1,600 people from their homes in three central Luzon towns to escape avalanches of debris from Mount Pinatubo.

[2] Torrential rains associated with Typhoon Eli alleviated drought conditions[10] but also resulted in mudslides in the Mount Pinatubo area of Luzon, where there were reports of three deaths,[2] including a 72-year-old man who died of a heart attack while being evacuated in Minalin.

The outer rainbands brought heavy rains, peaking at 55 mm (2.2 in) in Yuen Long, and strong winds to the area, with a gust of at 137 km/h (85 mph) occurring at Kai Tak Airport while Tai Mo Shan recorded a peak sustained wind of 76 km/h (47 mph).