hurricanesmapped

WESTERN PACIFIC · 1969 SEASON

Typhoon Elsie (1969)

Recorded track and intensity · 16 Sept 1969–4 Oct 1969

PEAK INTENSITYCategory 5
THE COMPLETE TRACKOpen in the explorer
ELSIE: complete recorded track, 16 Sept 1969–4 Oct 1969Recorded track from 16 Sept 1969 to 4 Oct 1969. Colors show the recorded wind category. The highlighted position follows the replay controls.ASIAPHILIPPINES16 Sep, 00:00 UTC17 Sep, 00:00 UTC18 Sep, 00:00 UTC19 Sep, 00:00 UTC20 Sep, 00:00 UTC21 Sep, 00:00 UTC22 Sep, 00:00 UTC23 Sep, 00:00 UTC24 Sep, 00:00 UTC25 Sep, 00:00 UTC26 Sep, 00:00 UTC27 Sep, 00:00 UTC28 Sep, 00:00 UTC29 Sep, 00:00 UTC30 Sep, 00:00 UTC1 Oct, 00:00 UTC2 Oct, 00:00 UTC3 Oct, 00:00 UTC4 Oct, 00:00 UTCPeak · Category 516 SEP4 OCT

Drag to pan · Pinch or Ctrl/⌘ + scroll to zoom. Keyboard: plus or minus to zoom, arrow keys to pan, and 0 to show the full track.

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
All times UTC

Wind speed & pressure

24 Sep, 06:00 UTC
Wind speed 150 ktPressure 895 hPa
0880809501601020kthPa16 Sep22 Sep28 Sep4 Oct

Forward speed & ACE

24 Sep, 06:00 UTC
Forward speed 16 ktCumulative ACE 20.58 10⁴ kt²
0020204040kt10⁴ kt²16 Sep22 Sep28 Sep4 Oct

Hover or tap either graph to follow the track. The slider controls both graphs. Each line uses its matching colored axis.

Forward speed measures the center’s motion. ACE accumulates squared one-minute winds at 00, 06, 12 and 18 UTC during tropical or subtropical stages at 34 kt or above. Missing observations make ACE partial. Missing measurements remain gaps.

Maximum sustained wind150 kt

173 mph / 278 km/h

Minimum recorded pressure895 hPa

23 Sept 1969 · tropical stage

Recorded track duration18.25 days

Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present

Approximate track distance11,790 km

Along the recorded center positions

STORM HISTORY

Track and intensity summary

Elsie is listed in the Western Pacific basin for the 1969 season. Its archived track begins on 16 Sept 1969, 00:00 UTC at 15°N, 165°E. US-agency wind is not available for this first observation. These dates describe the available observations, which may include stages before and after the tropical cyclone phase.

The first Category 5 observation appears on 23 Sept 1969, 09:00 UTC. The highest recorded tropical-stage one-minute sustained wind is 150 knots (173 mph / 278 km/h), first recorded on 24 Sept 1969, 06:00 UTC at 20.5°N, 136.5°E. The minimum recorded tropical-stage central pressure is 895 hPa on 23 Sept 1969, 06:00 UTC.

The full record spans 438 hours and approximately 11,790 kilometers along the recorded center positions. The last recorded position is 51°N, 174.1°E on 4 Oct 1969, 06:00 UTC. The final tropical-stage observation is earlier, on 27 Sept 1969, 15:00 UTC.

This summary is calculated from the NOAA IBTrACS archive. Category 5 describes the storm’s peak recorded wind intensity, not its intensity at landfall or the severity of impacts at any location. Landfall times, damage and casualties have not been independently reviewed for this page.

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 · Field documentation

Sources & methodology

Browse all Category 5 storm pages