2011 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Muifa 2011
Muifa followed a long, changing route from the tropical western Pacific toward Okinawa and the Yellow Sea. Its slow passage brought prolonged rain, dangerous seas and widespread transport disruption.
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161 mph
Jul 30, 2011 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A strong peak before a long northward journey
Muifa developed from a disturbance in Micronesia and initially drifted westward. It turned north and intensified rapidly, reaching archived sustained winds of 140 knots on July 30. In the Philippines it was known as Kabayan, and its circulation brought strong winds and heavy rain to northeastern areas.
The typhoon later bent westward toward Okinawa before resuming a northwestward course. Prolonged rain flooded the island, and flight cancellations stranded more than 13,000 travelers. The system weakened as it continued toward China's coast and the Yellow Sea.
Coastal flooding and disruption
China evacuated about 1.35 million people during Muifa's approach. Heavy surf closed beaches in Qingdao, while rain and wind damaged farmland across coastal provinces. The weakened storm reached the Yalu River estuary on August 8 and lost strength over northeastern China. In Korea, it brought power outages, flight cancellations and crop damage.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Muifa in brief
What was Typhoon Muifa's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Jul 30, 2011, 06:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Muifa?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Jul 30, 2011, 06:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Muifa's lowest pressure?
918 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Jul 30, 2011, 06:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Muifa occur?
The archived track runs from Jul 26, 2011, 12:00 PM UTC to Aug 15, 2011, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jul 26, 2011, 12:00 PM UTC to Aug 9, 2011, 09:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Muifa form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 2011 season. Its first archived position is 9°N, 144.5°E on Jul 26, 2011, 12:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Muifa make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Muifa'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