1965 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Jean 1965
Typhoon Jean reached southern Japan in August 1965 after a long journey across the western Pacific. Its track changed from a westward approach through tropical waters to a rapid northward passage toward Japan and the Russian Far East.
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161 mph
Aug 5, 1965 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A long approach across the Pacific
Jean's earliest archived positions lie near the Marshall Islands in late July. The system moved west-northwest past the Mariana Islands and into the Philippine Sea before turning north east of Taiwan. Its strongest archived one-minute winds, 140 kt, were recorded on 4 August.
The northward turn carried Jean toward southwestern Japan. It weakened from its offshore peak before crossing the country, bringing heavy winds to southern Japan on 5 and 6 August. Twenty-eight people were reported killed.
Continuing into higher latitudes
Jean accelerated north through the Sea of Japan as its tropical phase ended. By 7 August it had become extratropical. The archive follows its later circulation beyond Japan, across the Russian Far East and back into the northern Pacific, ending on 14 August.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Jean in brief
What was Typhoon Jean's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Aug 4, 1965, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Jean?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Aug 4, 1965, 06:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Jean's lowest pressure?
940 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Aug 5, 1965, 06:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Jean occur?
The archived track runs from Jul 24, 1965, 12:00 AM UTC to Aug 14, 1965, 12:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jul 26, 1965, 06:00 AM UTC to Aug 6, 1965, 09:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Jean form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1965 season. Its first archived position is 7.1°N, 163.1°E on Jul 24, 1965, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Jean make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 1 recorded position; the strongest is 92 mph on Aug 6, 1965, 12:00 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