1954 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Ruby 1954
Typhoon Ruby crossed the Philippines in November 1954 before continuing toward China. Its strongest winds occurred over the western Pacific, where it reached Category 5 intensity. By the time it arrived on the Chinese coast, Ruby had weakened to a tropical storm.
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173 mph
Nov 7, 1954 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A peak before the Philippine crossing
The archive begins Ruby's track on 2 November near 4.2°N, 147.5°E. Over the next four days, it strengthened into an intense typhoon. At 12:00 UTC on 6 November, US-agency one-minute sustained winds reached 150 kt, its first Category 5 observation and its archived maximum.
Through the Philippines and onward to China
Ruby reached the Philippines as a typhoon, then continued toward China as a weaker system. The strongest sampled center-over-land observation records 65 kt at 09:00 UTC on 8 November, well below the storm's offshore peak.
The historical account describes Ruby's later arrival in China as a tropical storm. Its full archived track spans 2–12 November, following the cyclone from the low-latitude western Pacific through its two land passages.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Ruby in brief
What was Typhoon Ruby's highest wind speed?
173 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Nov 6, 1954, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Ruby?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Nov 6, 1954, 12:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Ruby's lowest pressure?
940 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Nov 7, 1954, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Ruby occur?
The archived track runs from Nov 2, 1954, 12:00 PM UTC to Nov 12, 1954, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Nov 2, 1954, 12:00 PM UTC to Nov 12, 1954, 12:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Ruby form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1954 season. Its first archived position is 4.2°N, 147.5°E on Nov 2, 1954, 12:00 PM UTC.
Did Typhoon Ruby make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 75 mph on Nov 8, 1954, 09:00 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