During October 13, the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) started to monitor a tropical disturbance, that had developed about 705 km (440 mi) to the south-southeast of the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam.

[1] During that day, the system moved north-westwards under the influence of a subtropical ridge of high pressure to its north and rapidly developed a low level circulation center.

[2][3] During October 14, the JTWC and Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) classified the disturbance as a tropical depression, while it was located within the Caroline Islands about 700 km (435 mi) to the south of Guam.

[10] The typhoon entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility early on October 17 and received the name Lawin (hawk) from PAGASA, shortly before it deepened further with a sharply-outlined eye.

There was a prominent anticyclone feature to the north blocking the usual poleward outflow channel, but given the impressive appearance, the restriction to flow was apparently having limited impact.

[15] Located in an area of warm sea surface temperatures near 30 °C, Haima reached peak intensity at around 18:00 UTC, with the central pressure at 900 hPa (27 inHg) and ten-minute maximum sustained winds at 215 km/h (134 mph).

[15] As Haima continued approaching and interacting with Luzon on October 19, the core convection became elongated with another eyewall replacement cycle, leading to a weakening trend and a cloud-filled eye.

[21] Turning north-northwestward along the periphery of a subtropical ridge positioned to the north and east, Haima made landfall over Haifeng County, Shanwei in the Guangdong province of China at 12:40 CST (04:40 UTC) on October 21.

[31] Tracking eastward south of Japan, the system weakened into a low below gale-force about 420 km (260 mi) east of Chichijima, at around 09:00 JST (00:00 UTC) on October 25.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Haima killed 18 people in total, and damages had reached up to ₱3.74 billion (US$77.6 million).

8 Gale or Storm Signal; schools and businesses were suspended and roads and pavements empty as Haima passed as close as 110 km (68 mi) east-northeast of the city in the early afternoon of 21 October.

“As the western part of Haima’s eyewall is rather close to Hong Kong, gales will affect the territory for some time,” said the observatory, warning the public to steer clear of the waterfront due to rough seas.

Haima brought heavy rainfall and gusts of up to 105 kilometres per hour, as waves crashed over and flooded coastal roads and trees were knocked down by winds.

The SMG later explained that as Haima took on a more eastward track during the day on 21 October, the intense rainbands and associated gales that were forecast to affect Macau eventually did not impact the territory directly.