1968 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Wendy 1968
Typhoon Wendy traveled west across the Pacific and South China Sea in 1968, reaching northern Vietnam after passing southern Taiwan. Its later passage brought destructive winds to Hai Phong, far from the waters where it had reached peak strength.
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161 mph
Aug 30, 1968 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
An early peak over the Pacific
Wendy formed east of the Mariana Islands in late August and intensified quickly. The archive records peak one-minute winds of 140 kt on 31 August. It then weakened as it continued west toward Taiwan.
The storm passed southern Taiwan on 5 September as a much weaker typhoon than at its Pacific peak. It kept moving west across the South China Sea toward northern Vietnam, extending its track well beyond the Philippines and Taiwan.
Destructive winds in Hai Phong
The Phu Lien weather station in Hai Phong reported gusts reaching about 205 km/h, at the limit of its anemometer's measuring capacity. Hai Phong alone reported 155 deaths and 400 injuries from Wendy.
Wendy weakened over northern Vietnam, and the archived track ends on 10 September. Its history spans roughly two weeks, from rapid development over the western Pacific to a destructive final passage near the Gulf of Tonkin.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Wendy in brief
What was Typhoon Wendy's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Aug 31, 1968, 12:00 AM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Wendy?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Aug 31, 1968, 12:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Wendy's lowest pressure?
920 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Aug 30, 1968, 12:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Wendy occur?
The archived track runs from Aug 27, 1968, 12:00 AM UTC to Sep 10, 1968, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Aug 27, 1968, 12:00 AM UTC to Sep 10, 1968, 06:00 AM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Wendy form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1968 season. Its first archived position is 15.4°N, 150.8°E on Aug 27, 1968, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Wendy make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 46 mph on Sep 8, 1968, 06:00 PM UTC. Positions are six-hourly, so this is not a landfall chronology.
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