1976 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Louise 1976
Typhoon Louise reached its strongest phase east of the Philippines in November 1976. It curved away from land and accelerated northeast, bringing only minor reported effects to the Philippines and Japan despite its intense offshore winds.
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161 mph
Nov 3, 1976 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
From the Carolines to the Philippine Sea
Louise's archived track begins in the Caroline Islands on 27 October. It moved slowly at first, then traveled west south of Guam. Strengthening accelerated as the storm entered the Philippine Sea and its course bent northwest.
Peak one-minute winds reached 140 kt late on 2 November. The minimum archived pressure of 895 hPa followed on 3 November. Louise remained east of Luzon during this strongest phase, then began turning north.
An offshore turn toward the northeast
Louise weakened while moving northeast south of Japan. It accelerated across the Pacific, with its tropical stage ending on 7 November and later archived positions extending through 10 November. No recorded center position lies over land.
The historical season account describes Louise as the season's strongest typhoon and reports minor effects in the Philippines and Japan. Its most intense winds had remained over the Philippine Sea.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Louise in brief
What was Typhoon Louise's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Nov 2, 1976, 06:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Louise?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Nov 2, 1976, 03:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Louise's lowest pressure?
895 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Nov 3, 1976, 12:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Louise occur?
The archived track runs from Oct 27, 1976, 12:00 AM UTC to Nov 10, 1976, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Oct 27, 1976, 12:00 AM UTC to Nov 7, 1976, 09:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Louise form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1976 season. Its first archived position is 6.8°N, 153.1°E on Oct 27, 1976, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Louise make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Louise'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