2016 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Nock-Ten 2016
Nock-Ten reached Category 5 strength on Christmas Day before striking Catanduanes. The typhoon weakened across the Philippines and then rapidly declined over the South China Sea.
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161 mph
Dec 25, 2016 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Rapid growth before Christmas landfall
Nock-Ten organized east of the Philippines in December, becoming a tropical storm on December 21 and a typhoon two days later. A well-defined eye formed as rapid intensification began. The archive records maximum sustained winds of 140 knots at the start of December 25.
Land interaction began weakening the cyclone before it reached Catanduanes later on Christmas Day. It was still a powerful typhoon at the first landfall, then lost further strength as it crossed the Philippine islands. The local name for the storm was Nina.
Decline over the South China Sea
Nock-Ten emerged over the South China Sea as a much weaker typhoon. A surge of cold air brought strong wind shear that stripped thunderstorms away from the low-level center. Final operational advisories ended on December 27 and 28, and the archived track ends on December 28.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Nock-Ten in brief
What was Typhoon Nock-Ten's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Dec 25, 2016, 12:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Nock-Ten?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Dec 24, 2016, 09:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Nock-Ten's lowest pressure?
915 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Dec 25, 2016, 06:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Nock-Ten occur?
The archived track runs from Dec 20, 2016, 12:00 AM UTC to Dec 28, 2016, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Dec 20, 2016, 12:00 AM UTC to Dec 28, 2016, 12:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Nock-Ten form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 2016 season. Its first archived position is 6.9°N, 145.5°E on Dec 20, 2016, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Nock-Ten make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 1 recorded position; the strongest is 127 mph on Dec 25, 2016, 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