1952 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Agnes 1952
Typhoon Agnes reached Category 5 strength over the Philippine Sea in early November 1952. It remained offshore, curving toward the Ryukyu region before accelerating northeast south of Japan. Its strongest winds developed during the northwestern leg of that long ocean passage.
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173 mph
Nov 2, 1952 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Across the Philippine Sea
The archive begins Agnes's track on 28 October near 8.6°N, 149°E. Agnes moved northwest, passing through the Mariana Islands region before strengthening over the Philippine Sea. By early November, its course carried it toward the waters southeast of the Ryukyus.
Agnes first reached Category 5 at 18:00 UTC on 2 November. Its one-minute sustained winds peaked at 150 kt at 06:00 UTC the following day. The archived minimum pressure of 920 hPa first occurred on 2 November, before the wind maximum.
An offshore turn toward the northeast
Agnes curved north and then northeast as it approached the Ryukyu region. It weakened while accelerating south of Japan, and the final archived observations lie far to the east on 7 November. The season history describes Agnes as an offshore typhoon with little impact on land.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Agnes in brief
What was Typhoon Agnes's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Nov 3, 1952, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Agnes?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Nov 2, 1952, 06:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Agnes's lowest pressure?
920 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Nov 2, 1952, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Agnes occur?
The archived track runs from Oct 28, 1952, 12:00 PM UTC to Nov 7, 1952, 06:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Oct 28, 1952, 12:00 PM UTC to Nov 7, 1952, 06:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Agnes form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1952 season. Its first archived position is 8.6°N, 149°E on Oct 28, 1952, 12:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Agnes make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Agnes's center over land, but positions are six-hourly and a brief landfall can fall between them.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Category 5 refers to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology