1968 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Elaine 1968
Typhoon Elaine crossed the far north of Luzon in September 1968 after rapidly strengthening over the Philippine Sea. It then continued northwest across the South China Sea, reaching China in a much weakened state.
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173 mph
Sep 27, 1968 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Strengthening toward northern Luzon
Elaine's archived track begins south of Guam on 22 September. The system moved west-northwest past the region of Palau before bending toward Luzon. Its winds rose sharply on approach, reaching an archived one-minute peak of 150 kt on 27 September.
Elaine weakened before crossing extreme northern Luzon on 28 September. The passage over land reduced its strength further, though the circulation remained organized as it emerged into the South China Sea.
Northwest across the South China Sea
The storm briefly regained some strength over water before weakening again on its northwestward course. It reached southeastern China as a tropical storm, then lost its organized tropical circulation. Later archived positions remain near the coast through 3 October.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Elaine in brief
What was Typhoon Elaine's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 27, 1968, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Elaine?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 27, 1968, 12:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Elaine's lowest pressure?
910 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 27, 1968, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Elaine occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 22, 1968, 06:00 AM UTC to Oct 3, 1968, 06:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 23, 1968, 06:00 AM UTC to Oct 2, 1968, 03:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Elaine form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1968 season. Its first archived position is 6.3°N, 142.3°E on Sep 22, 1968, 06:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Elaine make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 115 mph on Sep 28, 1968, 09:00 AM 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