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WESTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP

1986 Pacific typhoon season

Every recorded track, mapped · 36 storms · 29 Jan 1986–3 Jan 1987

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY331.3
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1986 Pacific typhoon season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 36 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 BengalJudy: 29 Jan–6 Feb, peak 85 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 4 Apr–6 Apr, no US-agency windKen: 22 Apr–3 May, peak 90 kt, Category 2Lola: 14 May–23 May, peak 150 kt, Category 5Mac: 16 May–29 May, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormNancy: 18 Jun–24 Jun, peak 80 kt, Category 1Owen: 26 Jun–2 Jul, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 24 Jun–25 Jun, no US-agency windPeggy: 28 Jun–12 Jul, peak 140 kt, Category 5Roger: 11 Jul–18 Jul, peak 85 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 19 Jul–24 Jul, no US-agency windUnnamed: 26 Jul–26 Jul, no US-agency windSarah: 30 Jul–4 Aug, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormGeorgette: 8 Aug–16 Aug, peak 65 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 9 Aug–12 Aug, no US-agency windTip: 11 Aug–24 Aug, peak 80 kt, Category 1Vera: 13 Aug–28 Aug, peak 110 kt, Category 3Wayne: 16 Aug–7 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 16 Aug–17 Aug, no US-agency windUnnamed: 28 Aug–3 Sep, no US-agency windAbby: 13 Sep–20 Sep, peak 95 kt, Category 2Ben: 19 Sep–29 Sep, peak 120 kt, Category 4Carmen: 1 Oct–8 Oct, peak 100 kt, Category 3Dom: 3 Oct–12 Oct, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormEllen: 9 Oct–20 Oct, peak 80 kt, Category 1Forrest: 12 Oct–19 Oct, peak 110 kt, Category 3Georgia: 16 Oct–23 Oct, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormHerbert: 3 Nov–12 Nov, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormIda: 10 Nov–19 Nov, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormJoe: 15 Nov–25 Nov, peak 100 kt, Category 3Unnamed: 24 Nov–25 Nov, no US-agency windKim: 27 Nov–13 Dec, peak 135 kt, Category 4Lex: 1 Dec–9 Dec, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 1 Dec–2 Dec, no US-agency windMarge: 14 Dec–25 Dec, peak 95 kt, Category 2Norris: 20 Dec–3 Jan, peak 90 kt, Category 2

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1986 Pacific typhoon season. Column headers sort the list.
Judy–85Cat 29702,310
Unnamed–—Unclassified—960
Ken–90Cat 29801,480
Lola–150Cat 59104,050
Mac–45Tropical storm9922,420
Nancy–80Cat 19554,200
Unnamed–—Unclassified—500
Owen–50Tropical storm9855,430
Peggy–140Cat 59004,280
Roger–85Cat 29553,640
Unnamed–—Unclassified996820
Unnamed–—Unclassified—420
Sarah–55Tropical storm9803,060
Georgette–65Cat 19702,660
Unnamed–—Unclassified—770
Tip–80Cat 19654,740
Vera–110Cat 39254,800
Wayne–90Cat 29554,370
Unnamed–—Unclassified—190
Unnamed–—Unclassified9923,780
Abby–95Cat 29454,540
Ben–120Cat 49204,720
Carmen–100Cat 39405,350
Dom–45Tropical storm9961,820
Ellen–80Cat 19654,600
Forrest–110Cat 39304,810
Georgia–55Tropical storm9852,320
Herbert–60Tropical storm9854,260
Ida–55Tropical storm9853,910
Joe–100Cat 39402,250
Unnamed–—Unclassified—90
Kim–135Cat 49053,450
Lex–40Tropical storm9943,210
Unnamed–—Unclassified—720
Marge–95Cat 29504,190
Norris–90Cat 29554,320

36 storms with an IBTrACS 1986 typhoon season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 29 Jan 1986, last 3 Jan 1987.

Tropical storms27

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

Typhoons19

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 stormLola

150 kt · 173 mph / 278 km/h

Lowest pressure900 hPa

Peggy, 6 Jul 1986

Longest track record22 days

Wayne, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind9

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1986 season in brief

How many typhoons were there in the 1986 Pacific typhoon season?

The archive records 19 typhoons (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 27 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 1986 Pacific typhoon season?

Lola, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 150 kt (Category 5) on 19 May 1986, 18:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 910 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1986?

2 storms in the 1986 Pacific typhoon season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Lola, Peggy.

When did the 1986 Pacific typhoon season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 29 Jan 1986 and the last on 3 Jan 1987, from 36 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first typhoon of the 1986 Pacific typhoon season?

Judy, which reached typhoon strength (64 kt) on 4 Feb 1986, 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 1986 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