1952 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Hester 1952–1953
Typhoon Hester crossed the western Pacific at the turn of 1953, reaching Category 5 strength near the Mariana Islands. On Guam, residents faced damaging gusts and heavy seas as the eye passed to the south. Hester then curved north and northeast across the ocean, weakening during the first days of January.
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184 mph
Jan 1, 1953 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
From the Marshall Islands toward Guam
The first archived position places Hester in the Marshall Islands area at 18:00 UTC on 27 December 1952, with one-minute sustained winds of 55 kt. By 00:00 UTC the next day, US-agency estimates had risen to 65 kt, above the typhoon-strength threshold. Hester moved westward with a gradual northward drift, gaining strength on its approach to the Marianas.
At 00:00 UTC on 31 December, Hester reached 140 kt south of Guam, its first Category 5 observation on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale. Twelve hours later, the archived winds reached their maximum of 160 kt as Hester moved west of the island and began turning northwest.
Guam on New Year's Eve
The NOCC and Joint Typhoon Warning Center history of Guam places Hester's eye 120 nautical miles south of the island on 31 December. Guam experienced gusts of 70 kt. Those island gusts describe local conditions, separate from the much stronger sustained winds near Hester's center.
In southern Guam, Hester destroyed a few houses and uprooted or broke scores of trees. The official account also records losses of vegetable and fruit crops. Heavy seas washed over the Talofofo and Ylig river bridges and sank several small boats at the commercial port.
The turn north and northeast
Hester continued northwest into New Year's Day. The archive's lowest tropical-stage central pressure, 950 hPa, first appears at 06:00 UTC on 1 January 1953, after the first observation of its peak winds. During 2 January, Hester turned north and then northeast while its sustained winds declined.
Hester accelerated across the western Pacific during the following days. The last tropical-stage observation falls at 15:00 UTC on 4 January, with winds of 35 kt. Tracking continued beyond that stage: the final archived position is at 26°N, 176°E at 06:00 UTC on 6 January.
Further reading
NOAA IBTrACS v04r01 historical track archive
NOCC/Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Tropical Cyclones Affecting Guam (1671–1990), Appendix D
QUICK ANSWERS
Hester in brief
What was Typhoon Hester's highest wind speed?
184 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Dec 31, 1952, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Hester?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Dec 31, 1952, 12:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Hester's lowest pressure?
950 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Jan 1, 1953, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Hester occur?
The archived track runs from Dec 27, 1952, 06:00 PM UTC to Jan 6, 1953, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Dec 27, 1952, 06:00 PM UTC to Jan 4, 1953, 03:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Hester form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1952 season. Its first archived position is 6.4°N, 170.6°E on Dec 27, 1952, 06:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Hester make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Hester'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