1984 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Vanessa 1984
Typhoon Vanessa became the strongest typhoon of the 1984 season while remaining offshore. Its center passed south of Guam, and its outer circulation later contributed to deadly flooding in the Philippines.
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178 mph
Oct 26, 1984 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Past Guam into rapid intensification
Vanessa developed southeast of Pohnpei and moved northwest, becoming a tropical storm on 23 October. It passed about 165 km south of Guam as a newly formed typhoon. Wind and crop damage on Guam totaled an estimated US$1.7 million in 1984 values, with bananas bearing much of the loss.
The storm continued west-northwest and intensified rapidly. Its central pressure fell by about 100 hPa in 48 hours. The archive records peak one-minute winds of 155 kt and a minimum pressure of 880 hPa on 26 October.
Offshore winds and Philippine floods
Vanessa did not make a recorded landfall, but its outer rainbands triggered flooding in the Philippines that killed 63 people. These losses occurred while the main circulation remained over the Pacific.
An approaching cold front helped turn Vanessa northeast on 27 and 28 October. The weakening typhoon gradually merged with the front and became an extratropical storm on 30 October.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Vanessa in brief
What was Typhoon Vanessa's highest wind speed?
178 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Oct 26, 1984, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Vanessa?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Oct 26, 1984, 12:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Vanessa's lowest pressure?
880 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Oct 26, 1984, 12:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Vanessa occur?
The archived track runs from Oct 20, 1984, 12:00 AM UTC to Oct 31, 1984, 06:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Oct 22, 1984, 12:00 PM UTC to Oct 30, 1984, 09:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Vanessa form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1984 season. Its first archived position is 4°N, 162.5°E on Oct 20, 1984, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Vanessa make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Vanessa's center over land, but positions are six-hourly and a brief landfall can fall between them.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Category 5 refers to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology