hurricanesmapped

WESTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP

1988 Pacific typhoon season

Every recorded track, mapped · 36 storms · 5 Jan 1988–27 Dec 1988

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY227.9
Open in the explorerExplore
1988 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 BengalRoy: 5 Jan–19 Jan, peak 115 kt, Category 4Susan: 28 May–3 Jun, peak 80 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 3 Jun–6 Jun, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionThad: 17 Jun–25 Jun, peak 70 kt, Category 1Vanessa: 24 Jun–29 Jun, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 5 Jul–10 Jul, no US-agency windWarren: 11 Jul–20 Jul, peak 115 kt, Category 4Agnes: 26 Jul–1 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 30 Jul–3 Aug, no US-agency windUnnamed: 31 Jul–2 Aug, no US-agency windBill: 5 Aug–9 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormClara: 5 Aug–16 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 8 Aug–12 Aug, no US-agency windDoyle: 13 Aug–24 Aug, peak 115 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 13 Aug–18 Aug, no US-agency windUnnamed: 13 Aug–16 Aug, no US-agency windFabian: 24 Aug–3 Sep, peak 75 kt, Category 1Elsie: 24 Aug–1 Sep, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormGay: 2 Sep–4 Sep, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormHal: 5 Sep–17 Sep, peak 105 kt, Category 3Uleki: 8 Sep–16 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Irma: 11 Sep–17 Sep, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormJeff: 11 Sep–17 Sep, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormLee: 16 Sep–25 Sep, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormKit: 18 Sep–22 Sep, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormMamie: 19 Sep–24 Sep, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 28 Sep–4 Oct, no US-agency windNelson: 30 Sep–8 Oct, peak 140 kt, Category 5Unnamed: 7 Oct–10 Oct, no US-agency windOdessa: 8 Oct–18 Oct, peak 90 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 13 Oct–16 Oct, no US-agency windPat: 16 Oct–23 Oct, peak 75 kt, Category 1Ruby: 20 Oct–29 Oct, peak 125 kt, Category 4Tess: 1 Nov–7 Nov, peak 65 kt, Category 1Skip: 3 Nov–12 Nov, peak 125 kt, Category 4Val: 21 Dec–27 Dec, peak 55 kt, Tropical storm

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 1988 Pacific typhoon season. Column headers sort the list.
Roy–115Cat 49404,260
Susan–80Cat 19701,130
Unnamed–30Tropical depression1000680
Thad–70Cat 19702,430
Vanessa–45Tropical storm9901,810
Unnamed–—Unclassified—970
Warren–115Cat 49402,350
Agnes–45Tropical storm9753,540
Unnamed–—Unclassified998960
Unnamed–—Unclassified—610
Bill–45Tropical storm9851,230
Clara–45Tropical storm9942,120
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,060
Doyle–115Cat 49302,180
Unnamed–—Unclassified10001,310
Unnamed–—Unclassified10001,050
Fabian–75Cat 19702,370
Elsie–35Tropical storm9922,390
Gay–45Tropical storm9961,710
Hal–105Cat 39453,890
Uleki–90Cat 29452,220
Irma–55Tropical storm990990
Jeff–45Tropical storm9941,450
Lee–55Tropical storm9902,460
Kit–60Tropical storm980840
Mamie–45Tropical storm9901,020
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,450
Nelson–140Cat 59154,630
Unnamed–—Unclassified992520
Odessa–90Cat 29652,530
Unnamed–—Unclassified—570
Pat–75Cat 19802,720
Ruby–125Cat 49501,930
Tess–65Cat 19751,600
Skip–125Cat 49501,960
Val–55Tropical storm9921,480

36 storms with an IBTrACS 1988 typhoon season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 5 Jan 1988, last 27 Dec 1988.

Tropical storms26

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

Typhoons14

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)7

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 51

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormNelson

140 kt · 161 mph / 259 km/h

Lowest pressure915 hPa

Nelson, 4 Oct 1988

Longest track record13.8 days

Roy, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind9

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1988 season in brief

How many typhoons were there in the 1988 Pacific typhoon season?

The archive records 14 typhoons (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 26 tropical storms, with 7 major typhoons reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1988 Pacific typhoon season?

Nelson, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 140 kt (Category 5) on 4 Oct 1988, 12:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 915 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1988?

1 storm in the 1988 Pacific typhoon season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Nelson.

When did the 1988 Pacific typhoon season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 5 Jan 1988 and the last on 27 Dec 1988, from 36 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first typhoon of the 1988 Pacific typhoon season?

Roy, which reached typhoon strength (64 kt) on 9 Jan 1988, 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 1988 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