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WESTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP

1968 Pacific typhoon season

Every recorded track, mapped · 43 storms · 21 Jan 1968–30 Nov 1968

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY356.5
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1968 Pacific typhoon season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 43 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 BengalUnnamed: 21 Jan–23 Jan, no US-agency windUnnamed: 28 Feb–2 Mar, no US-agency windJean: 6 Apr–19 Apr, peak 110 kt, Category 3Kim: 30 May–5 Jun, peak 100 kt, Category 3Unnamed: 2 Jun–2 Jun, no US-agency windUnnamed: 3 Jun–5 Jun, no US-agency windUnnamed: 4 Jun–8 Jun, no US-agency windLucy: 27 Jun–3 Jul, peak 110 kt, Category 3Mary: 20 Jul–1 Aug, peak 130 kt, Category 4Nadine: 21 Jul–28 Jul, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormOlive: 21 Jul–28 Jul, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormNadine: 25 Jul–25 Jul, no US-agency windUnnamed: 29 Jul–31 Jul, no US-agency windUnnamed: 30 Jul–31 Jul, no US-agency windUnnamed: 5 Aug–5 Aug, no US-agency windPolly: 5 Aug–17 Aug, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormRose: 9 Aug–15 Aug, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 7 Aug–7 Aug, no US-agency windUnnamed: 7 Aug–7 Aug, no US-agency windUnnamed: 9 Aug–9 Aug, no US-agency windShirley: 17 Aug–24 Aug, peak 65 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 23 Aug–24 Aug, no US-agency windTrix: 22 Aug–29 Aug, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormVirginia: 24 Aug–26 Aug, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormWendy: 27 Aug–10 Sep, peak 140 kt, Category 5Agnes: 29 Aug–10 Sep, peak 150 kt, Category 5Bess: 30 Aug–6 Sep, peak 65 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 5 Sep–5 Sep, no US-agency windWendy: 6 Sep–6 Sep, no US-agency windDella: 15 Sep–25 Sep, peak 120 kt, Category 4Carmen: 16 Sep–24 Sep, peak 110 kt, Category 3Elaine: 23 Sep–2 Oct, peak 150 kt, Category 5Faye: 1 Oct–10 Oct, peak 145 kt, Category 5Unnamed: 12 Oct–12 Oct, no US-agency windGloria: 14 Oct–24 Oct, peak 90 kt, Category 2Hester: 15 Oct–21 Oct, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormIrma: 20 Oct–25 Oct, peak 80 kt, Category 1Judy: 24 Oct–2 Nov, peak 120 kt, Category 4Kit: 29 Oct–5 Nov, peak 70 kt, Category 1Lola: 7 Nov–12 Nov, peak 105 kt, Category 3Mamie: 9 Nov–25 Nov, peak 65 kt, Category 1Nina: 19 Nov–29 Nov, peak 70 kt, Category 1Ora: 21 Nov–30 Nov, peak 120 kt, Category 4

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1968 Pacific typhoon season. Column headers sort the list.
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,010
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,340
Jean–110Cat 39352,130
Kim–100Cat 39504,060
Unnamed–—Unclassified—130
Unnamed–—Unclassified—480
Unnamed–—Unclassified—2,830
Lucy–110Cat 39352,930
Mary–130Cat 49254,610
Olive–45Tropical storm9881,640
Nadine–60Tropical storm9701,560
Nadine–—Unclassified—50
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,110
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,190
Unnamed–—Unclassified—720
Polly–55Tropical storm9654,020
Unnamed–—Unclassified—340
Unnamed–—Unclassified—110
Rose–60Tropical storm9702,360
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,010
Shirley–65Cat 19602,450
Trix–55Tropical storm9804,090
Unnamed–—Unclassified—910
Virginia–50Tropical storm9901,090
Wendy–140Cat 59202,940
Agnes–150Cat 59005,300
Bess–65Cat 19651,830
Unnamed–—Unclassified—2,400
Wendy–—Unclassified—100
Della–120Cat 49302,590
Carmen–110Cat 39352,760
Elaine–150Cat 59102,340
Faye–145Cat 59153,400
Unnamed–—Unclassified—730
Gloria–90Cat 29552,290
Hester–55Tropical storm995980
Irma–80Cat 19554,030
Judy–120Cat 49302,980
Kit–70Cat 19603,900
Lola–105Cat 39403,800
Mamie–65Cat 19752,690
Nina–70Cat 19604,060
Ora–120Cat 49303,260

43 storms with an IBTrACS 1968 typhoon season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 21 Jan 1968, last 30 Nov 1968.

Tropical storms27

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

Typhoons20

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)13

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 54

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormAgnes

150 kt · 173 mph / 278 km/h

Lowest pressure900 hPa

Agnes, 4 Sept 1968

Longest track record18.5 days

Mary, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind16

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1968 season in brief

How many typhoons were there in the 1968 Pacific typhoon season?

The archive records 20 typhoons (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 27 tropical storms, with 13 major typhoons reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1968 Pacific typhoon season?

Agnes, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 150 kt (Category 5) on 3 Sept 1968, 18:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 900 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1968?

4 storms in the 1968 Pacific typhoon season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Wendy, Agnes, Elaine, Faye.

When did the 1968 Pacific typhoon season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 21 Jan 1968 and the last on 30 Nov 1968, from 43 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first typhoon of the 1968 Pacific typhoon season?

Jean, which reached typhoon strength (64 kt) on 9 Apr 1968, 00:00 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 1968 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