2016 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Chaba 2016
Chaba developed a small, intense eye before reaching Category 5 strength near Okinawa. It weakened rapidly on the final approach to South Korea, where it still caused fatal damage.
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173 mph
Oct 3, 2016 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A compact eye over warm water
Chaba developed east-northeast of Guam in late September and moved northwestward. Its organization improved as wind shear eased and the sea remained very warm. The cyclone became a typhoon on October 1 and intensified rapidly as rainbands wrapped tightly around its core.
Archived sustained winds reached 150 knots on October 3. At its strongest, Chaba had a sharply defined eye only about nine kilometers across. Within the Philippine monitoring area it was called Igme.
Weakening toward South Korea
Chaba lost strength after its peak and reached the Busan area on October 5 with a much weaker circulation. The saved account reports seven deaths in South Korea. The storm soon became extratropical as it moved away, while the archived track continues to October 7.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Chaba in brief
What was Typhoon Chaba's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Oct 3, 2016, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Chaba?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Oct 3, 2016, 03:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Chaba's lowest pressure?
911 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Oct 3, 2016, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Chaba occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 24, 2016, 06:00 PM UTC to Oct 7, 2016, 06:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 24, 2016, 06:00 PM UTC to Oct 5, 2016, 03:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Chaba form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 2016 season. Its first archived position is 14.9°N, 164.6°E on Sep 24, 2016, 06:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Chaba make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Chaba'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