1992 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Elsie 1992
Typhoon Elsie curved away from land in November 1992 after strengthening over the Philippine Sea. Its track carried it from Micronesia toward the waters south of Japan, followed by an accelerating eastward passage.
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167 mph
Nov 5, 1992 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Strengthening on a northwestward course
Elsie's archived track begins in the Caroline Islands in late October. It initially moved north, then turned northwest past the region south of Guam. The circulation strengthened steadily as it entered the Philippine Sea.
Peak one-minute winds reached 145 kt on 5 November, shortly after the minimum archived pressure of 915 hPa. The center remained well east of the Philippines, and its course began bending north before the strongest phase ended.
An offshore northeastward turn
Elsie turned northeast south of Japan and weakened as it accelerated. The tropical stage ended on 7 November, while later archived positions continue east across the Pacific through 9 November. None of the recorded center positions lies over land.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Elsie in brief
What was Typhoon Elsie's highest wind speed?
167 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Nov 5, 1992, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Elsie?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Nov 4, 1992, 09:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Elsie's lowest pressure?
915 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Nov 5, 1992, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Elsie occur?
The archived track runs from Oct 27, 1992, 12:00 PM UTC to Nov 9, 1992, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Oct 29, 1992, 06:00 AM UTC to Nov 7, 1992, 03:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Elsie form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1992 season. Its first archived position is 5.6°N, 150.2°E on Oct 27, 1992, 12:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Elsie make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Elsie'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