1985 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Dot 1985
Typhoon Dot crossed the Philippines and continued to Vietnam in October 1985. Its rapid offshore intensification surprised forecasters, while flooding and wind damage displaced thousands of people along its westward route.
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173 mph
Oct 16, 1985 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Unexpected rapid intensification
Dot developed from a small thunderstorm area near Pohnpei and moved west-northwest. After becoming a typhoon, it intensified explosively despite nearby dry air. The archive records peak one-minute winds of 150 kt and a minimum pressure of 895 hPa on 16 October.
The storm weakened before crossing the Philippines but retained typhoon strength. It entered the South China Sea late on 18 October, briefly regained strength and then weakened again while approaching Vietnam.
Flooding across the Philippines
Nueva Ecija suffered particularly heavy damage to crops and buildings. Across the Philippines, 42 towns were flooded and about 125,000 people fled their homes. More than 52,000 houses were reported destroyed, with many more damaged.
Dot also affected Hainan, where two deaths and extensive housing damage were reported. It reached Vietnam on 21 October and dissipated over mountainous terrain the following day. The overall reported toll was 90 deaths and US$104.9 million in damage at 1985 values.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Dot in brief
What was Typhoon Dot's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Oct 16, 1985, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Dot?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Oct 16, 1985, 12:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Dot's lowest pressure?
895 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Oct 16, 1985, 12:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Dot occur?
The archived track runs from Oct 11, 1985, 12:00 AM UTC to Oct 22, 1985, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Oct 12, 1985, 12:00 AM UTC to Oct 22, 1985, 12:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Dot form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1985 season. Its first archived position is 5.1°N, 159.4°E on Oct 11, 1985, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Dot make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 98 mph on Oct 18, 1985, 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