The 1956 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1956, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and west of the
international date line
The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific O ...
. Storms that form east of the date line and north of the equator are called hurricanes; see
1956 Pacific hurricane season
The 1956 Pacific hurricane season ran through the summer and fall of 1956. Eleven tropical systems were observed this season.
Systems Hurricane One
Hurricane One existed from May 18 to May 19.
Tropical Storm Two
Tropical Storm Two existed from ...
. Tropical storms forming in the entire west Pacific basin were assigned a name by the
Fleet Weather Center
The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
on
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
.
Systems
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from:21/03/1956 till:05/04/1956 color:C4 text:"Sarah"
from:10/04/1956 till:15/04/1956 color:TS text:"02W"
from:16/04/1956 till:25/04/1956 color:C5 text:"Thelma"
from:04/06/1956 till:06/06/1956 color:TD text:"TD"
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from:02/08/1956 till:06/08/1956 color:C1 text:"Amy"
from:02/08/1956 till:05/08/1956 color:TD text:"TD"
from:04/08/1956 till:06/08/1956 color:TD text:"TD"
from:07/08/1956 till:10/08/1956 color:TS text:"08W"
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from:10/08/1956 till:19/08/1956 color:C3 text:"Babs"
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from:25/08/1956 till:02/09/1956 color:C3 text:"Charlotte"
from:28/08/1956 till:05/09/1956 color:C2 text:"Dinah"
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from:13/09/1956 till:20/09/1956 color:C2 text:"Freda"
from:17/09/1956 till:24/09/1956 color:C5 text:"Gilda"
from:19/09/1956 till:27/09/1956 color:C3 text:"Harriet"
from:22/09/1956 till:27/09/1956 color:C1 text:"Ivy"
from:26/09/1956 till:29/09/1956 color:TD text:"TD"
from:14/10/1956 till:26/10/1956 color:C4 text:"Jean"
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from:09/11/1956 till:23/11/1956 color:C2 text:"Karen-Lucille"
from:16/11/1956 till:16/11/1956 color:TS text:"Mary"
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from:22/11/1956 till:25/11/1956 color:C1 text:"Nadine"
from:24/11/1956 till:30/11/1956 color:C1 text:"Olive"
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from:01/01/1956 till:01/02/1956 text:January
from:01/02/1956 till:01/03/1956 text:February
from:01/03/1956 till:01/04/1956 text:March
from:01/04/1956 till:01/05/1956 text:April
from:01/05/1956 till:01/06/1956 text:May
from:01/06/1956 till:01/07/1956 text:June
from:01/07/1956 till:01/08/1956 text:July
from:01/08/1956 till:01/09/1956 text:August
from:01/09/1956 till:01/10/1956 text:September
from:01/10/1956 till:01/11/1956 text:October
from:01/11/1956 till:01/12/1956 text:November
from:01/12/1956 till:01/01/1957 text:December
from:01/01/1957 till:31/01/1957 text:January
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A total of 39 tropical cyclones are made in the Western Pacific Basin. Of all the 39 tropical cyclones made, 23 of them reached tropical storm strength, 15 of them reached typhoon strength, and 3 of them reached the super typhoon strength. The rest of the storms, such as unnumbered and unnamed tropical depressions and storms, are only classified by the CMA while the JMA is sometimes rare before the 1960s - 1970s.
Typhoon Sarah
Typhoon Sarah formed at a low latitude on March 21 and took a generally northwest heading. On the 31st as it approached the Philippine islands, it slowed then reversed its direction dissipating on April 4.
Tropical Storm 02W
Tropical Storm 02W formed on April 10. It hit
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
as a tropical depression. It move westward hitting
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
dissipating on April 15.
Typhoon Thelma
On April 16, Thelma formed near the formation place of typhoon Sarah. Thelma struck the Philippine Islands on April 21 and passed close to Formosa on April 23 then struck Japan. The U.S. Navy Fleet Weather Central in Guam stopped following Thelma on April 25.
Tropical Storm 04W
Typhoon Vera
Typhoon Wanda
A tropical depression developed southwest of Guam on July 25. It moved north-northeastward, passing east of the Northern Marianas. On July 27, it intensified into a tropical storm and was designated ''Wanda''. On the same day, the storm turned more westward, steered by the subtropical ridge to the north. Low wind shear and warm waters allowed Wanda to intensify steadily, developing into an intense typhoon while . On July 30, reconnaissance aircraft recorded a minimum pressure of , and the peak winds were estimated at 295 km/h (185 mph). After passing through the
Miyako Islands
The (also Miyako Jima group) are a group of islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, belonging to the Ryukyu Islands. They are situated between the Okinawa Island and Yaeyama Islands.
In the early 1870s, the population of the islands was estim ...
, Wanda weakened slightly and traversed the East China Sea. On August 1, the typhoon made landfall in eastern China near
Zhoushan
Zhoushan , formerly romanized as Chusan, is an urbanized archipelago with the administrative status of a prefecture-level city in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. It consists of an archipelago of islands at the southern mouth of H ...
,
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
, producing a pressure of ; this was the lowest pressure recorded in China from a tropical cyclone. Wanda slowly weakened while progressing through China, dissipating on August 5.
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
on Taiwan recorded of rainfall over three days while the typhoon passed to the north. Along the coast of Zhejiang, Wanda produced a storm surge that destroyed 465 seawalls and 902 boats. The storm also flooded crop fields, destroying 20,380 tons of wheat. Across Zhejiang, 2.2 million houses and 38.5% of the main roads were damaged during the storm. Nationwide, Wanda killed 4,935 people and injured 16,617 others.
Typhoon Amy
Tropical Storm 08W
Typhoon Babs
Typhoon Charlotte
Typhoon Dinah
Typhoon Dinah was formed on August 25. The storm increased rapidly before hitting northern Taiwan. The typhoon made landfall on
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
before turning through China and
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. It dissipated over the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
/
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
on September 5.
Typhoon Emma
Emma was a powerful typhoon that brought 145 mph (230 km/h) winds and 22 inches (560 mm) of rain to
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
(then the US territory of the Ryukyu Islands) and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. Emma left 77 people dead and over $8 million (1956 USD) in damage.
Forming from a tropical disturbance near the
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...
, Emma churned southwest before gaining typhoon status on September 3. Emma then recurved after reaching category 3 status. Moving west-northwest, Emma reached a peak intensity of 155 mph (250 km/h) as it bypassed
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
. Emma also brushed
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
and
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
as a strong category 3 typhoon. On
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
, Emma brought 22 inches of rain that caused extensive flooding with left 34 people dead and thousands homeless. On
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, Emma sank dozens of ships and wrecked homes and buildings. In all 42 people were dead and 35 missing, most of them are fishermen. On
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
, most headed typhoon watches are choosing to evacuate or bolting storm shutters and stowing avay light equipment. A strong
rip current
A rip current, often simply called a rip (or misleadingly a ''rip tide''), is a specific kind of water current that can occur near beaches with breaking waves. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water which moves directly away ...
had overwhelmed the soldiers and all of the eleven marines drowned. When Emma hit
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
, it brought 145 mph (230 km/h) gusts that ripped apart runways and smashed hangars. Heavy rains brought flashfloods that damaged homes and buildings. A total of 1,059 millimetres (41.7 in) fell at Kadena Air Force Base in 21 hours on September 8. The U.S. held island of
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
was hard hit by Emma. Numerous planes, runways, and barracks are damaged. Emma left on hat battering island, leaving $8 million (1956 US dollars in damage). Emma then dissipated on September 11. Emma was one of the several typhoons that cause significant damage to
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
during the mid-1950s.
Typhoon Freda
Freda hit Taiwan and China. Its remnants spread all the way to the Alaskan Islands.
Typhoon Gilda
Typhoon Harriet
Harriet formed on September 19. It was a moderately powerful typhoon that brought heavy and 110 mph winds to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The typhoon destroyed 600 buildings and killed 38 people. Harriet then crossed the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
before making the second landfall in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. There, the storm brought heavy rains and gusty winds before dissipating on September 27. Harriet killed 53 people and left $50 million (1956) dollars in damage.
Typhoon Ivy
Typhoon Jean
Tropical Storm 18W
Typhoon Karen-Lucille
Typhoon Mary
Mary was a short-lived typhoon that never impacted land.
Typhoon Nadine
Nadine was a typhoon that stalled and then weakened, Nadine never made landfall.
Typhoon Olive
Olive tracked across the Philippines as a hurricane.
Typhoon Polly
The last storm of the season, Polly formed on December 7. It reached its peak intensity with 105 mph winds. It made landfall in
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
as a category 2 typhoon and this made Polly to weaken to a tropical storm and dissipated. On Philippines, Polly brought 105 mph winds and 11 inch rains in the Philippines on December 8. The typhoon killed 79 people and left $2.5 million (1956 dollars) in damage.
Storm names
These are the names used in 1956. This is the same used in the 1952 season, with the exception of Jean, Lucille and Nadine which replaced
Jeanne, Lois and Nona.
See also
*
List of Pacific typhoon seasons
The following is a list of Pacific typhoon seasons. The seasons are limited to the north of the equator between the 100th meridian east and the 180th meridian (aka Prime Antimeridian).
Seasons Pre-1940
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
...
*
1956 Atlantic hurricane season
*
1956 Pacific hurricane season
The 1956 Pacific hurricane season ran through the summer and fall of 1956. Eleven tropical systems were observed this season.
Systems Hurricane One
Hurricane One existed from May 18 to May 19.
Tropical Storm Two
Tropical Storm Two existed from ...
Resources
External links
Japan Meteorological AgencyJoint Typhoon Warning Center.
China Meteorological AgencyNational Weather Service GuamMacau Meteorological Geophysical ServicesKorea Meteorological AgencyPhilippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services AdministrationDigital Typhoon - Typhoon Images and InformationTyphoon2000 Philippine typhoon website
{{DEFAULTSORT:1956 Pacific Typhoon Season