1982 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Bess 1982
Typhoon Bess had weakened to a tropical storm by the time it reached Japan in August 1982, but its rain still caused a major disaster. Flooding and landslides damaged homes, severed roads and stranded communities across a densely populated part of the country.
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161 mph
Jul 29, 1982 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
An intense peak before the northward turn
Bess developed within a broad monsoon trough in late July and became a typhoon on 24 July. After a brief southwestward turn, it resumed a north-northwest course and intensified rapidly. Peak archived one-minute winds reached 140 kt on 29 July.
The typhoon turned north and weakened in less favorable conditions. It reached southeastern Japan as a tropical storm on 1 August, then merged with another low-pressure system over the Sea of Japan.
Flooding, landslides and damaged transport
Bess caused 95 reported deaths and injured 119 people in Japan. About 17,000 homes were flooded, and landslides stranded roughly 2,000 people, including many children. Roads, bridges and railway services were disrupted across the affected region.
Around 25,000 people were displaced. Reported damage reached 591.6 billion yen, equivalent to US$2.38 billion at the time. Thousands of police officers and firefighters searched debris after the storm, and the name Bess was subsequently retired.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Bess in brief
What was Typhoon Bess's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Jul 29, 1982, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Bess?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Jul 29, 1982, 03:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Bess's lowest pressure?
900 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Jul 29, 1982, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Bess occur?
The archived track runs from Jul 21, 1982, 12:00 AM UTC to Aug 6, 1982, 12:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jul 21, 1982, 12:00 AM UTC to Aug 2, 1982, 03:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Bess form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1982 season. Its first archived position is 10.6°N, 164.6°E on Jul 21, 1982, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Bess make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 1 recorded position; the strongest is 58 mph on Aug 1, 1982, 06:00 PM 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