hurricanesmapped

WESTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP

1959 Pacific typhoon season

Every recorded track, mapped · 34 storms · 26 Feb 1959–2 Jan 1960

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY380.0
Open in the explorerExplore
1959 Pacific typhoon season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 34 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESCANADAMEXICOAFRICAEUROPECHINAJAPANPHILIPPINESINDIAGulf of MexicoPacific OceanPhilippine SeaArabian SeaBay of BengalRuby: 26 Feb–1 Mar, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormSally: 4 Mar–17 Mar, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormTilda: 13 Apr–23 Apr, peak 125 kt, Category 4Violet: 28 Jun–28 Jun, no US-agency windWilda: 4 Jul–8 Jul, no US-agency windBillie: 9 Jul–17 Jul, peak 90 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 29 Jul–30 Jul, no US-agency windEllen: 1 Aug–9 Aug, peak 100 kt, Category 3Georgia: 11 Aug–14 Aug, peak 110 kt, Category 3Hope: 18 Aug–19 Aug, no US-agency windUnnamed: 18 Aug–18 Aug, no US-agency windIris: 19 Aug–23 Aug, peak 90 kt, Category 2Joan: 23 Aug–31 Aug, peak 170 kt, Category 5Kate: 24 Aug–27 Aug, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormLouise: 31 Aug–6 Sep, peak 120 kt, Category 4Marge: 2 Sep–2 Sep, no US-agency windOpal:Ruth: 5 Sep–6 Sep, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormNora: 5 Sep–11 Sep, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormPatsy: 7 Sep–11 Sep, peak 120 kt, Category 4Sarah: 11 Sep–18 Sep, peak 165 kt, Category 5Thelma: 18 Sep–19 Sep, no US-agency windVera: 20 Sep–27 Sep, peak 165 kt, Category 5Unnamed: 22 Sep–24 Sep, no US-agency windAmy: 1 Oct–7 Oct, peak 65 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 2 Oct–3 Oct, no US-agency windBabs: 4 Oct–9 Oct, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormCharlotte: 9 Oct–18 Oct, peak 145 kt, Category 5Dinah: 12 Oct–21 Oct, peak 150 kt, Category 5Unnamed: 26 Oct–26 Oct, no US-agency windEmma: 4 Nov–13 Nov, peak 110 kt, Category 3Unnamed: 8 Nov–16 Nov, no US-agency windFreda: 13 Nov–19 Nov, peak 115 kt, Category 4Gilda: 11 Dec–22 Dec, peak 150 kt, Category 5Harriet: 22 Dec–2 Jan, peak 130 kt, Category 4

Drag to pan · Pinch or Ctrl/⌘ + scroll to zoom. Keyboard: plus or minus to zoom, arrow keys to pan, and 0 to show the whole map.

Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1959 Pacific typhoon season. Column headers sort the list.
Ruby–50Tropical storm998740
Sally–55Tropical storm9903,310
Tilda–125Cat 49302,490
Violet–—Unclassified—240
Wilda–—Unclassified9943,020
Billie–90Cat 29703,450
Unnamed–—Unclassified—740
Ellen–100Cat 39654,260
Georgia–110Cat 39602,550
Hope–—Unclassified—1,990
Unnamed–—Unclassified—650
Iris–90Cat 29651,500
Joan–170Cat 58853,650
Kate–40Tropical storm1000830
Louise–120Cat 49653,260
Marge–—Unclassified—430
Opal:Ruth–35Tropical storm—160
Nora–50Tropical storm9882,660
Patsy–120Cat 4970260*
Sarah–165Cat 59054,920
Thelma–—Unclassified—1,010
Vera–165Cat 58954,680
Unnamed–—Unclassified—280
Amy–65Cat 19854,410
Unnamed–—Unclassified—380
Babs–40Tropical storm10041,220
Charlotte–145Cat 59053,790
Dinah–150Cat 59155,070
Unnamed–—Unclassified—850
Emma–110Cat 39605,360
Unnamed–—Unclassified—2,780
Freda–115Cat 49453,580
Gilda–150Cat 59252,620
Harriet–130Cat 49303,050

* Track has gaps over 12 hours, so its distance is partial.

34 storms with an IBTrACS 1959 typhoon season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 26 Feb 1959, last 2 Jan 1960.

Tropical storms23

Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 34 kt or more

Typhoons17

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)14

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 56

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormJoan

170 kt · 196 mph / 315 km/h

Lowest pressure885 hPa

Joan, 29 Aug 1959

Longest track record14.5 days

Emma, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind11

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1959 season in brief

How many typhoons were there in the 1959 Pacific typhoon season?

The archive records 17 typhoons (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 23 tropical storms, with 14 major typhoons reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1959 Pacific typhoon season?

Joan, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 170 kt (Category 5) on 29 Aug 1959, 06:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 885 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1959?

6 storms in the 1959 Pacific typhoon season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Joan, Sarah, Vera, Charlotte, Dinah, Gilda.

When did the 1959 Pacific typhoon season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 26 Feb 1959 and the last on 2 Jan 1960, from 34 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first typhoon of the 1959 Pacific typhoon season?

Tilda, which reached typhoon strength (64 kt) on 15 Apr 1959, 12:00 UTC.

METHODOLOGY

Data sources and limitations

The map and totals are generated from NOAA’s IBTrACS v04r01 archive. A storm belongs to this page when the archive lists it in the Western Pacific basin for the 1959 season, so a December storm whose track ends in January stays with its season. Storms that cross between basins appear on the page of their archive basin only.

Counts use US-agency one-minute winds during the tropical stage: 34 kt for a tropical storm, 64 kt for typhoon strength and 96 kt for major intensity, on the Saffir–Simpson scale in every basin. Local agencies classify storms differently, and official season summaries can differ from the archive. Accumulated cyclone energy sums squared winds at six-hourly synoptic times, counting observations in the calendar year. Storms with no US-agency wind are mapped but cannot enter the counts.

The map frame is the same for every Western Pacific season, so a track that leaves it is cut at the edge. Lines show each storm’s center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Coastlines use Natural Earth’s 1:10m land data.

Archive retrieved

NOAA IBTrACS archive · Field documentation

Sources & methodology