2018 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Kong-Rey 2018
Kong-Rey reached Category 5 strength over the Philippine Sea before weakening toward South Korea. Outer rainbands also brought damaging weather to Japan, despite the center's more westerly route.
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173 mph
Oct 1, 2018 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A powerful offshore peak
Kong-Rey developed from an open-Pacific disturbance in late September and initially moved westward. It strengthened rapidly, with archived sustained winds reaching 150 knots late on October 1. The storm was known as Queenie while inside the Philippine monitoring area.
An eyewall replacement cycle and unfavorable conditions weakened the cyclone after its peak. It continued toward higher latitudes and reached South Korea on October 6 as a tropical storm, then became extratropical later that day.
Rain and outages in Korea and Japan
Two people died in South Korea, where damage was estimated at 54.9 billion won. Outer rainbands affected Kyushu and Shikoku, with rainfall reaching 300 millimeters in part of Shikoku. More than 12,000 families lost power in Nagasaki, and a rain-related death occurred in Fukuoka. Agriculture in Okinawa and Miyazaki also suffered substantial losses.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Kong-Rey in brief
What was Typhoon Kong-Rey's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Oct 1, 2018, 06:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Kong-Rey?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Oct 1, 2018, 03:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Kong-Rey's lowest pressure?
906 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Oct 1, 2018, 06:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Kong-Rey occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 27, 2018, 12:00 PM UTC to Oct 7, 2018, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 28, 2018, 12:00 AM UTC to Oct 6, 2018, 09:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Kong-Rey form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 2018 season. Its first archived position is 6.3°N, 153.5°E on Sep 27, 2018, 12:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Kong-Rey make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 1 recorded position; the strongest is 67 mph on Oct 6, 2018, 03:00 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