1959 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Charlotte 1959
Typhoon Charlotte brought prolonged, destructive rain to Okinawa in October 1959. Flooding and landslides damaged homes and crops as the storm passed nearby, after weakening from Category 5 strength. Charlotte then followed an offshore route along southern Japan.
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167 mph
Oct 13, 1959 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Intensification and the northeastward turn
Charlotte organized east of the Philippines and moved northwest, becoming a typhoon in October's second week. Its archived one-minute winds peaked at 145 kt at 12:00 UTC on 13 October. It then recurved northeast and weakened in cooler, drier air before passing near Okinawa on 16 October.
Floods and crop losses on Okinawa
Charlotte brought about 24 inches of rain to Okinawa. Landslides damaged parts of the island, and floodwater reached five feet in some areas. The storm destroyed 275 homes and damaged 618, leaving 1,068 people homeless.
Agricultural losses were severe, including the destruction of about three-quarters of the rice crop. Charlotte continued offshore along southern Japan and then turned east. Tropical-stage observations end on 18 October, with the full archive continuing through 20 October.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Charlotte in brief
What was Typhoon Charlotte's highest wind speed?
167 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Oct 13, 1959, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Charlotte?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Oct 13, 1959, 06:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Charlotte's lowest pressure?
905 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Oct 13, 1959, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Charlotte occur?
The archived track runs from Oct 7, 1959, 06:00 PM UTC to Oct 20, 1959, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Oct 9, 1959, 12:00 AM UTC to Oct 18, 1959, 09:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Charlotte form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1959 season. Its first archived position is 9°N, 142.8°E on Oct 7, 1959, 06:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Charlotte make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Charlotte'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