1962 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Amy 1962
Typhoon Amy crossed Taiwan and eastern China in September 1962 before continuing toward Korea. The large cyclone reached Category 5 strength over the Pacific, then weakened before its land passages. Flooding killed two dozen people and damaged buildings and utility networks.
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161 mph
Sep 1, 1962 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Development near the Marianas
Amy developed northwest of Chuuk and passed near Saipan as it strengthened. The archive records peak one-minute sustained winds of 140 kt at 18:00 UTC on 1 September. It remained a powerful typhoon while approaching Taiwan from the east.
Across Taiwan and eastern China
Amy reached Taiwan near Yilan on 5 September and then crossed to China near Fuzhou. The strongest sampled center-over-land observation carries winds of 110 kt. Wind and flooding damaged buildings, power supplies and communications, and the historical account records 24 deaths from flooding.
North toward Korea and Sakhalin
Amy weakened over China, returned to coastal waters and continued toward the Korean Peninsula. Its tropical-stage observations end on 7 September. The later circulation moved northeast toward Sakhalin, where the archived track ends on 10 September.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Amy in brief
What was Typhoon Amy's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 1, 1962, 06:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Amy?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 1, 1962, 06:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Amy's lowest pressure?
940 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 1, 1962, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Amy occur?
The archived track runs from Aug 28, 1962, 06:00 PM UTC to Sep 10, 1962, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Aug 28, 1962, 06:00 PM UTC to Sep 7, 1962, 03:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Amy form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1962 season. Its first archived position is 14.5°N, 149.8°E on Aug 28, 1962, 06:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Amy make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 127 mph on Sep 5, 1962, 03:00 AM UTC. Positions are six-hourly, so this is not a landfall chronology.
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