1962 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Opal 1962
Typhoon Opal struck Taiwan near peak strength in August 1962, destroying homes and damaging transport links and crops. It then weakened over China before continuing toward Korea and northern Japan. Its later circulation traveled as far as the Bering Sea.
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167 mph
Aug 5, 1962 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Peak strength near Taiwan
Opal developed near Micronesia in late July and intensified while moving northwest. At 06:00 UTC on 5 August, the archive records one-minute sustained winds of 145 kt and a pressure of 900 hPa. It reached Taiwan soon afterward, then weakened across the island and the strait before moving into China.
Destruction in Taiwan and losses at sea
Opal destroyed nearly 1,500 homes and damaged about 4,700 more in Taiwan. Floodwater and surge swept through Yilan, where about 5,000 people lost their homes. A revised report listed twelve deaths, 966 injuries and five missing people on the island.
Later effects killed two people in Japan and seven fishermen along South Korea's Yellow Sea coast. Many others remained missing at sea. The historical damage estimate was US$25 million in 1962 dollars, covering crops, transportation and buildings.
Toward the Bering Sea
After weakening over China, Opal's later circulation crossed Korea and Hokkaido, then traveled through the Sea of Okhotsk and the Aleutian region. The full archived track continues to 14 August, well beyond its destructive Taiwan passage.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Opal in brief
What was Typhoon Opal's highest wind speed?
167 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Aug 5, 1962, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Opal?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Aug 5, 1962, 03:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Opal's lowest pressure?
900 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Aug 5, 1962, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Opal occur?
The archived track runs from Jul 30, 1962, 12:00 AM UTC to Aug 14, 1962, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jul 30, 1962, 12:00 AM UTC to Aug 8, 1962, 09:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Opal form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1962 season. Its first archived position is 8.5°N, 152.6°E on Jul 30, 1962, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Opal make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 3 recorded positions; the strongest is 150 mph on Aug 5, 1962, 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