1996 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Herb 1996
Typhoon Herb crossed the southern Ryukyu Islands and northern Taiwan before reaching mainland China in 1996. Heavy rain caused catastrophic flooding along a route that also included damaging coastal winds.
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161 mph
Jul 30, 1996 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A large typhoon approaching Taiwan
Herb developed near Saipan in late July and turned west beneath a subtropical ridge. It grew into a large typhoon, interacted with nearby Typhoon Gloria and then strengthened again. On July 30, it reached peak one-minute winds of 140 kt and a central pressure of 925 hPa.
Herb crossed the southern Ryukyu Islands before reaching northern Taiwan on July 31 at Category 4 strength. Its eye passed over Taipei. The storm weakened across Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait, then made another landfall in mainland China as a Category 2 typhoon.
Flooding across Taiwan and China
In the southern Ryukyus, strong winds damaged agriculture, fisheries and forestry. Observers on Yonaguni measured a gust of 244 km/h. Heavy rain then caused major flooding in Taiwan, where at least 51 people died and 22 remained missing in the saved account.
Mainland China suffered the largest loss of life, with 779 recorded deaths. The saved account places damage to Chinese agriculture and property at US$5 billion in 1996 currency. Herb's weakening winds after Taiwan did not end the danger from its rain over land.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Herb in brief
What was Typhoon Herb's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Jul 30, 1996, 06:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Herb?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Jul 30, 1996, 06:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Herb's lowest pressure?
925 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Jul 30, 1996, 06:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Herb occur?
The archived track runs from Jul 21, 1996, 06:00 AM UTC to Aug 4, 1996, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jul 23, 1996, 12:00 AM UTC to Aug 4, 1996, 12:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Herb form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1996 season. Its first archived position is 12.3°N, 151.6°E on Jul 21, 1996, 06:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Herb make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 119 mph on Jul 31, 1996, 03:00 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