1971 Western Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Wendy 1971
Typhoon Wendy followed a long oceanic route in September 1971, reaching Category 5 strength well east of the Mariana Islands. It later approached Japan's latitude before accelerating north, with no recorded center position over land.
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161 mph
Sep 7, 1971 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
An open-Pacific peak
Wendy's track began north of the Marshall Islands on 3 September. Its earliest motion was southwestward, followed by a turn toward the west and northwest as it organized. The archive records peak one-minute winds of 140 kt on 7 September.
After its peak, Wendy slowed and weakened over the central part of the western Pacific. It briefly regained some strength as the track resumed a more definite northwestward course, moving toward the waters east of Japan.
Accelerating north east of Japan
Wendy turned north before reaching Japan and lost strength as it entered higher latitudes. Its tropical stage ended on 13 September. Later archived positions show rapid movement toward the Kamchatka region, where the record ends on 15 September.
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 Sep 7, 1971, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Typhoon Wendy?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 7, 1971, 09:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Typhoon Wendy's lowest pressure?
915 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 7, 1971, 12:00 PM UTC.
When did Typhoon Wendy occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 3, 1971, 12:00 AM UTC to Sep 15, 1971, 12:00 PM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 3, 1971, 12:00 AM UTC to Sep 13, 1971, 03:00 PM UTC.
Where did Typhoon Wendy form?
In the Western Pacific basin, in the 1971 season. Its first archived position is 22.3°N, 171.9°E on Sep 3, 1971, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Typhoon Wendy make landfall?
No archived position places Typhoon Wendy'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