Mike retained its intensity of 165 mph winds for a day as it approached the Philippines. Fortunately for the archipelago, the combination of an eyewall replacement cycle and land interaction to its west weakened the super typhoon. Nevertheless, Mike still hit the eastern Philippines as a 140 mph typhoon on November 12. The typhoon further weakened to an 85 mph typhoon while crossing the islands, but in the South China Sea, conditions favored slight strengthening.