1965 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Freda 1965
Typhoon Freda crossed northern Luzon and Hainan in July 1965. Between those landfalls, it traversed the South China Sea, carrying strong winds and heavy rain toward southern China.
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161 mph
Jul 12, 1965 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A powerful approach to northern Luzon
Freda's track began south of Guam on 6 July and moved generally west through the Philippine Sea. Its course briefly bent southwest before turning northwest toward Luzon. The archive records peak one-minute winds of 140 kt late on 11 July.
Freda reached northern Luzon on 13 July while still a powerful typhoon. Crossing the island reduced its strength, but the storm retained typhoon winds as it entered the South China Sea.
Across the South China Sea
Freda regained some strength over water and continued west-northwest toward Hainan. It struck the island on 15 July, then weakened rapidly over southern China. The archived track ends the following day.
Heavy flooding accompanied Freda's passage through China. Hong Kong reported two deaths from the storm. Its long westward route exposed communities on both sides of the South China Sea to the same cyclone within a few days.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Freda in brief
What was Typhoon Freda's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Jul 11, 1965, 06:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Freda?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Jul 11, 1965, 06:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Freda's lowest pressure?
925 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Jul 12, 1965, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Freda occur?
The archived track runs from Jul 6, 1965, 06:00 AM UTC to Jul 16, 1965, 06:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jul 7, 1965, 06:00 AM UTC to Jul 16, 1965, 06:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Freda form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1965 season. Its first archived position is 8.1°N, 143.9°E on Jul 6, 1965, 06:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Freda make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 3 recorded positions; the strongest is 150 mph on Jul 13, 1965, 06:00 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