1953 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Doris 1953
Typhoon Doris remained over the western Pacific in December 1953, but its history includes a fatal encounter far from shore. A reconnaissance aircraft disappeared during a flight into the typhoon, killing nine people. Doris later reached Category 5 strength before weakening.
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173 mph
Dec 16, 1953 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A December typhoon over the Pacific
The archive first places Doris near 5.8°N, 169.8°E on 9 December. Its tropical phase lasted nearly thirteen days, carrying the cyclone across the western Pacific during the closing weeks of the year. The season history describes a storm that did not affect land.
The missing reconnaissance aircraft
Nine people died when a reconnaissance aircraft disappeared during a mission into Doris. The loss makes the storm part of the history of fatal weather-reconnaissance flights, despite its offshore course.
A late peak and weakening
Doris first reached Category 5 in the archive at 09:00 UTC on 20 December, with peak one-minute sustained winds of 150 kt three hours later. Its lowest archived tropical-stage pressure, 935 hPa, had occurred on 16 December. The final tropical-stage observation falls on 21 December, while tracking continues through 23 December.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Doris in brief
What was Typhoon Doris's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Dec 20, 1953, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Doris?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Dec 20, 1953, 09:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Doris's lowest pressure?
935 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Dec 16, 1953, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Doris occur?
The archived track runs from Dec 9, 1953, 06:00 AM UTC to Dec 23, 1953, 06:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Dec 9, 1953, 06:00 AM UTC to Dec 21, 1953, 09:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Doris form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1953 season. Its first archived position is 5.8°N, 169.8°E on Dec 9, 1953, 06:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Doris make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Doris'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