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WESTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP

1979 Pacific typhoon season

Every recorded track, mapped · 37 storms · 27 Dec 1978–23 Dec 1979

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY277.7
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1979 Pacific typhoon season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 37 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 BengalAlice: 27 Dec–15 Jan, peak 110 kt, Category 3Bess: 18 Mar–25 Mar, peak 90 kt, Category 2Cecil: 8 Apr–20 Apr, peak 80 kt, Category 1Dot: 6 May–17 May, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 17 May–23 May, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 17 May–20 May, no US-agency windUnnamed: 17 Jun–23 Jun, no US-agency windEllis: 23 Jun–6 Jul, peak 85 kt, Category 2Faye: 28 Jun–9 Jul, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 23 Jul–25 Jul, peak 20 kt, Tropical depressionHope: 24 Jul–10 Aug, peak 130 kt, Category 4Gordon: 25 Jul–31 Jul, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 2 Aug–7 Aug, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 6 Aug–9 Aug, no US-agency windUnnamed: 6 Aug–6 Aug, no US-agency windIrving: 7 Aug–18 Aug, peak 90 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 8 Aug–9 Aug, no US-agency windUnnamed: 12 Aug–18 Aug, no US-agency windJudy: 15 Aug–27 Aug, peak 135 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 16 Aug–20 Aug, peak 20 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 29 Aug–30 Aug, no US-agency windKen: 30 Aug–4 Sep, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormLola: 31 Aug–8 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Mac: 11 Sep–23 Sep, peak 70 kt, Category 1Nancy: 15 Sep–24 Sep, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormOwen: 19 Sep–1 Oct, peak 110 kt, Category 3Pamela: 23 Sep–26 Sep, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 25 Sep–29 Sep, no US-agency windSarah: 28 Sep–17 Oct, peak 110 kt, Category 3Roger: 30 Sep–7 Oct, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormTip: 2 Oct–19 Oct, peak 165 kt, Category 5Unnamed: 17 Oct–19 Oct, no US-agency windVera: 27 Oct–9 Nov, peak 140 kt, Category 5Wayne: 7 Nov–13 Nov, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormAbby: 29 Nov–14 Dec, peak 110 kt, Category 3Unnamed: 30 Nov–2 Dec, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionBen: 16 Dec–23 Dec, peak 60 kt, Tropical storm

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season. Column headers sort the list.
Alice–110Cat 39303,430
Bess–90Cat 29551,890
Cecil–80Cat 19652,830
Dot–40Tropical storm9853,290
Unnamed–30Tropical depression9923,170
Unnamed–—Unclassified—580
Unnamed–—Unclassified—730
Ellis–85Cat 29552,470
Faye–40Tropical storm9902,690
Unnamed–20Tropical depression—1,590
Hope–130Cat 49004,320
Gordon–60Tropical storm9751,560
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—1,140
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,200
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,740
Irving–90Cat 29553,860
Unnamed–—Unclassified—140
Unnamed–—Unclassified—810
Judy–135Cat 49102,740
Unnamed–20Tropical depression—760
Unnamed–—Unclassified—620
Ken–60Tropical storm9903,520
Lola–90Cat 29502,760
Mac–70Cat 19852,160
Nancy–45Tropical storm9921,330
Owen–110Cat 39204,490
Pamela–45Tropical storm994990
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,060
Sarah–110Cat 39301,870
Roger–45Tropical storm9853,590
Tip–165Cat 58705,780
Unnamed–—Unclassified—480
Vera–140Cat 59153,550
Wayne–50Tropical storm9901,520
Abby–110Cat 39504,420
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—1,130
Ben–60Tropical storm9942,470

37 storms with an IBTrACS 1979 typhoon season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 27 Dec 1978, last 23 Dec 1979.

Tropical storms23

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

Typhoons14

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)8

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 52

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormTip

165 kt · 190 mph / 306 km/h

Lowest pressure870 hPa

Tip, 12 Oct 1979

Longest track record19.8 days

Tip, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind9

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1979 season in brief

How many typhoons were there in the 1979 Pacific typhoon season?

The archive records 14 typhoons (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 23 tropical storms, with 8 major typhoons reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season?

Tip, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 165 kt (Category 5) on 12 Oct 1979, 06:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 870 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1979?

2 storms in the 1979 Pacific typhoon season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Tip, Vera.

When did the 1979 Pacific typhoon season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 27 Dec 1978 and the last on 23 Dec 1979, from 37 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first typhoon of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season?

Alice, which reached typhoon strength (64 kt) on 5 Jan 1979, 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 1979 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