1987 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Holly 1987
Typhoon Holly developed far out in the Pacific during September 1987 and remained away from land. Favorable conditions allowed it to strengthen much faster than initially expected before it turned north and gradually weakened.
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.
161 mph
Sep 8, 1987 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Rapid development over open water
Holly began as a persistent thunderstorm area at the eastern end of the monsoon trough. Low wind shear allowed convection to organize around its center as it moved west. The storm became a typhoon on 7 September and then deepened rapidly for about 36 hours.
The archive records peak one-minute winds of 140 kt on 9 September. Around that time, Holly turned from northwest to north through a weakness in the subtropical ridge. Its forward speed decreased as the winds began to weaken.
A slow decline far from land
Holly lost typhoon strength during the following days and gradually transitioned away from a tropical structure. Its late circulation persisted into mid-September, with the archive ending on 18 September. The historical account reports no effects on land, consistent with the offshore center positions.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Holly in brief
What was Typhoon Holly's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 9, 1987, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Holly?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 9, 1987, 09:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Holly's lowest pressure?
900 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 8, 1987, 06:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Holly occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 1, 1987, 06:00 AM UTC to Sep 18, 1987, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 1, 1987, 06:00 AM UTC to Sep 17, 1987, 03:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Holly form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1987 season. Its first archived position is 11°N, 177°E on Sep 1, 1987, 06:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Holly make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Holly'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