1953 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Kit 1953
Typhoon Kit followed a long route across East Asia in June and July 1953. After reaching Category 5 strength over the western Pacific, it weakened on its approach to Taiwan and continued toward China, Korea and Japan. Strong winds and rain also affected the northern Philippines.
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173 mph
Jun 30, 1953 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A June peak over the Pacific
Kit's archived track begins on 25 June near 5°N, 150°E, east of the Philippines. It traveled west and then northwest, reaching one-minute sustained winds of 150 kt at 12:00 UTC on 29 June. The minimum archived pressure of 910 hPa followed at 00:00 UTC on 30 June.
Taiwan and the northward turn
Kit slowed as July began and reached Taiwan on 3 July. It then moved into China and turned north, continuing toward the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The historical account places its later passage across Japan on 7 July; the archive ends on 8 July.
The storm brought strong winds and widespread rain to Batanes in the northern Philippines. Maritime losses included one ship destroyed and another damaged. By the time Kit reached land, it had weakened from its oceanic peak: the strongest sampled center-over-land observation carries 90 kt on 3 July.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Kit in brief
What was Typhoon Kit's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Jun 29, 1953, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Kit?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Jun 29, 1953, 12:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Kit's lowest pressure?
910 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Jun 30, 1953, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Kit occur?
The archived track runs from Jun 25, 1953, 12:00 AM UTC to Jul 8, 1953, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jun 25, 1953, 12:00 AM UTC to Jul 8, 1953, 06:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Kit form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1953 season. Its first archived position is 5°N, 150°E on Jun 25, 1953, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Kit make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 3 recorded positions; the strongest is 104 mph on Jul 3, 1953, 06:00 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