Herb struck the Ryūkyū Islands, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, causing major damage.

The active monsoon trough that spawned Typhoons Frankie (08W) and Gloria (09W) consolidated into a third area well east of the other two to develop Tropical Depression 10W near Saipan on July 23.

Tropical Storm Herb moved west, growing in size and strengthening to typhoon status on July 25 before rapidly intensifying into a Category 4 48 hours later.

Shortly afterward Herb began to intensify again, and became a Category 5 super typhoon on July 30, reaching its peak intensity with a barometric pressure of 925 hPa (27.3 inHg) and 10-minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (109 mph; 49 m/s).

[10] On July 31, the eye of Typhoon Herb passed roughly 16 to 20 km (9.9 to 12.4 mi) southwest of Iriomote Island.

[12] In Okinawa, large swells up to 4 m (13 ft) flooded low-lying areas, leaving minor damage.