WESTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP

2003 Pacific typhoon season

Every recorded track, mapped · 29 storms · 11 Jan 2003–27 Dec 2003

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY335.8
2003 Pacific typhoon season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 29 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 BengalYanyan: 11 Jan–21 Jan, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormKujira: 8 Apr–25 Apr, peak 135 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 17 May–22 May, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionChan-Hom: 18 May–27 May, peak 115 kt, Category 4Linfa: 24 May–30 May, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormNangka: 30 May–3 Jun, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormSoudelor: 7 Jun–19 Jun, peak 115 kt, Category 4Koni: 14 Jul–22 Jul, peak 65 kt, Category 1Imbudo: 15 Jul–25 Jul, peak 130 kt, Category 4Morakot: 30 Jul–5 Aug, peak 65 kt, Category 1Etau: 31 Jul–9 Aug, peak 110 kt, Category 3Krovanh: 13 Aug–26 Aug, peak 90 kt, Category 2Vamco: 18 Aug–20 Aug, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 19 Aug–21 Aug, no US-agency windDujuan: 27 Aug–3 Sep, peak 125 kt, Category 4Maemi: 4 Sep–13 Sep, peak 150 kt, Category 5Jimena: 5 Sep–5 Sep, peak 28 kt, Tropical depressionChoi-Wan: 16 Sep–22 Sep, peak 100 kt, Category 3Koppu: 23 Sep–30 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 6 Oct–11 Oct, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 10 Oct–13 Oct, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionKetsana: 18 Oct–26 Oct, peak 125 kt, Category 4Parma: 18 Oct–31 Oct, peak 130 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 21 Oct–24 Oct, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 21 Oct–28 Oct, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormMelor: 28 Oct–4 Nov, peak 75 kt, Category 1Nepartak: 11 Nov–19 Nov, peak 75 kt, Category 1Lupit: 14 Nov–2 Dec, peak 145 kt, Category 5Unnamed: 23 Dec–27 Dec, peak 35 kt, Tropical storm

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 2003 Pacific typhoon season. Column headers sort the list.
Yanyan50Tropical storm9872,870
Kujira135Cat 49043,880
Unnamed30Tropical depression1000710
Chan-Hom115Cat 49272,790
Linfa55Tropical storm9843,290
Nangka45Tropical storm9912,960
Soudelor115Cat 49275,080
Koni65Cat 19762,140
Imbudo130Cat 49103,060
Morakot65Cat 19761,190
Etau110Cat 39333,950
Krovanh90Cat 29543,380
Vamco35Tropical storm997890
UnnamedUnclassified210
Dujuan125Cat 49161,880
Maemi150Cat 58854,000
Jimena28Tropical depression1009150
Choi-Wan100Cat 39443,790
Koppu90Cat 29543,380
Unnamed25Tropical depression1002610
Unnamed30Tropical depression1000720
Ketsana125Cat 49162,140
Parma130Cat 49105,150
Unnamed25Tropical depression1002620
Unnamed35Tropical storm9971,320
Melor75Cat 19671,930
Nepartak75Cat 19672,270
Lupit145Cat 58924,980
Unnamed35Tropical storm9971,170

29 storms with an IBTrACS 2003 typhoon season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 11 Jan 2003, last 27 Dec 2003.

Tropical storms23

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

Typhoons17

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)11

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 52

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormMaemi

150 kt · 173 mph / 278 km/h

Lowest pressure885 hPa

Maemi, 10 Sept 2003

Longest track record18.8 days

Lupit, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind1

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 2003 season in brief

How many typhoons were there in the 2003 Pacific typhoon season?

The archive records 17 typhoons (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 23 tropical storms, with 11 major typhoons reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 2003 Pacific typhoon season?

Maemi, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 150 kt (Category 5) on 10 Sept 2003, 00:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 885 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 2003?

2 storms in the 2003 Pacific typhoon season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Maemi, Lupit.

When did the 2003 Pacific typhoon season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 11 Jan 2003 and the last on 27 Dec 2003, from 29 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first typhoon of the 2003 Pacific typhoon season?

Kujira, which reached typhoon strength (64 kt) on 12 Apr 2003, 18:00 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 2003 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