1959 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Joan 1959
Typhoon Joan crossed Taiwan as an exceptionally intense storm in August 1959, then reached mainland China. Wind and flooding destroyed thousands of homes in Taiwan, while later rainfall overflowed rivers in Korea. Its broad circulation affected communities far beyond the eye's path.
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196 mph
Aug 29, 1959 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
An intense approach to Taiwan
Joan strengthened over the western Pacific while moving northwest. The archive records a minimum pressure of 885 hPa at 00:00 UTC on 29 August and peak one-minute winds of 170 kt six hours later. Its strongest sampled center-over-land observation carries 148 kt that afternoon, still within Category 5.
Taiwan's mountains weakened Joan as the center crossed the island. It continued onto the Chinese mainland on 30 August and declined inland. The historical account describes a very large storm, with damaging winds extending hundreds of kilometers from the center.
Damage from Taiwan to Korea
Joan destroyed 3,308 homes in Taiwan and caused extensive crop damage. In China, reports recorded three deaths and 57 injuries. Authorities evacuated about 50,000 homes in Fuzhou as the typhoon approached.
Rain associated with Joan also flooded rivers on the Korean Peninsula. Seventeen people died, 21 suffered injuries and about 7,000 lost their homes. The archived track continues through 2 September, beyond the end of its tropical phase on 31 August.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Joan in brief
What was Typhoon Joan's highest wind speed?
196 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Aug 29, 1959, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Joan?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Aug 28, 1959, 09:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Joan's lowest pressure?
885 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Aug 29, 1959, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Joan occur?
The archived track runs from Aug 23, 1959, 06:00 PM UTC to Sep 2, 1959, 06:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Aug 23, 1959, 06:00 PM UTC to Aug 31, 1959, 03:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Joan form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1959 season. Its first archived position is 12°N, 139.4°E on Aug 23, 1959, 06:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Joan make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 170 mph on Aug 29, 1959, 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