Forming from an area of persistent convection over the Caroline Islands, Mike was first designated on November 6, 1990 and moved generally westward.

Late on November 10, the typhoon reached its maximum intensity of 115 mph (185 km/h), as estimated by the Japanese Meteorological Agency.

Early the next day, the storm passed over western Hainan Island, and degraded to a tropical depression that night.

After briefly emerging into the Gulf of Tonkin, Mike passed over Northern Vietnam and southern China, where it dissipated on November 18.

[2][nb 1] At 15:03 UTC on November 6, the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert, after a rapid improvement in the system's convective structure and Dvorak estimates of T1.0/50 km/h (30 mph).

Following an increase in the storm's convection and an expansion of its outflow, the JTWC upgraded the system into a tropical depression at 12:00 UTC on November 7.

[2] Shortly thereafter, Mike entered a period of rapid deepening, aided by two dual outflow channels and a trough to the northeast.

Due to the formation of an eye, the JTWC declared Mike a typhoon at 00:00 UTC on November 9,[1] with the JMA following suit six hours later.

[2] Midday on November 10, Dvorak intensity estimates reached T7.0/255 km/h (160 mph) and satellite imagery indicated a 24 km (15 mi) diameter eye and good upper-level outflow.

Later that day, the typhoon made landfall[1] on the Cebu province,[8] with the JTWC and JMA reporting winds of 225 and 160 km/h (140 and 100 mph) respectively.

[2][6] After Mike entered the South China Sea, the JTWC and many tropical cyclone forecast models anticipated that the typhoon would strike into Vietnam, but this did not occur.

Increased vertical wind shear induced a weakening trend,[1] and midday on November 15, the JMA downgraded Mike to a severe tropical storm.

[4] Maximum storm alerts were raised across the central Philippines, with lower warnings issued for the southern tip of Luzon.

Authorities advised coastal residents to move to higher ground in Samar, and Leyte islands, as well as the northern region of Mindanao.

The local National Weather Service office recorded winds of 133 km/h (83 mph), 250 mm (9.8 in) of rain, and a minimum sea level pressure of 980.5 mbar (28.95 inHg).

Many roofs were lost and extensive damage occurred to boats, greenhouses, agriculture projects, fruit trees and vegetable gardens.

[15] Across the state of Kayangel, situated just to the north of the island of Babelthuap, most trees were uprooted and a majority of residents lost everything.

[22] Twenty-five crewmen and passengers of the commercial vessel MV Dona Roberta were reported missing[23] after it sank from strong waves in the southern quadrant of the typhoon.

[24] A tornado was spawned by Mike near Cagayan de Oro,[24] which destroyed 160 houses[13] and left thousands homeless.

[32] Another ship called the Iligan Flores was missing off the coast of Mindanao but there were no reports about the fate of the passengers and crew.

[35] In the Bohol province, 20 individuals were killed while floods up to 5 m (10 ft) high submerged roofs of cars and houses in the towns of Loboc and Loay.

[41] At the time, Mike was the costliest tropical cyclone listed in the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council's database.

[51] Although Typhoon Mike recurved north before striking Vietnam, the storm was responsible for the lives of 68 individuals in the Central Vietnamese province of Nghệ Tĩnh.

[53] After Mike traversed the Philippines, President Corazon Aquino declared a state of calamity in 29 provinces and 24 cities[38] in the Visayas region.

[22] Thirty-nine provinces in the Philippines were declared a disaster area,[30][21] twenty-nine of which were exempted from government cuts in oil deliveries and energy conservation measures.

[38] As a result of the typhoon, authorities projected annual economic growth in the Philippines would be less than 2% – down from 2.3% earlier in the year.

[59] Typhoon Mike's damage to the infrastructure of Cebu forced local authorities to rethink governmental priorities,[1] where a food shortage was observed and water was rationed.

The United States Agency for International Development distributed 97 t (107 short tons) of food in Leyte and eastern Samar, and by November 28, the country was granted $432,000 worth of supplies and cash.

[38] Due to the severity of damage and loss of life caused by the storm, the name Mike was retired and replaced with Manny.