1955 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Ruth 1955
Typhoon Ruth approached the Philippines in December 1955, then turned northeast over the Pacific. Its archived wind estimate of 180 kt stands out among historical typhoons. The storm's short life included a sharp rise in intensity followed by weakening as it accelerated away from the tropics.
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207 mph
Dec 16, 1955 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Toward the Philippines, then northeast
Ruth's archived track starts on 12 December near 6.2°N, 142.3°E. It moved northwest across the Philippine Sea, reaching the waters east of the Philippines by 15 December. The center then turned northeast, passing south of Japan as the storm accelerated across the ocean.
The historical wind estimate
The archive records one-minute sustained winds of 180 kt at 12:00 UTC on 15 December. The saved historical account links this extreme estimate to reconnaissance observations and notes the uncertainty associated with wind estimates from that era. The figure is the archived estimate, rather than a modern remeasurement of Ruth's intensity.
Ruth weakened after its turn. Its lowest pressure in the site's tropical-stage archive, 925 hPa, appears on 16 December, after the wind maximum. The final archived observations fall on 18 December, with the track extending far east of Japan.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Ruth in brief
What was Typhoon Ruth's highest wind speed?
207 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Dec 15, 1955, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Ruth?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Dec 15, 1955, 09:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Ruth's lowest pressure?
925 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Dec 16, 1955, 12:00 AM UTC.
When did Typhoon Ruth occur?
The archived track runs from Dec 12, 1955, 12:00 AM UTC to Dec 18, 1955, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Dec 12, 1955, 12:00 AM UTC to Dec 18, 1955, 12:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Ruth form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1955 season. Its first archived position is 6.2°N, 142.3°E on Dec 12, 1955, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Ruth make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Ruth'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