Typhoon Olive was the strongest
Pacific typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
in
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
. The thirteenth
tropical storm
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dependi ...
and the ninth typhoon of the season, it developed about southwest of
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...
on September 13. The next day, the system attained tropical storm intensity. Beginning to rapidly intensify, Olive attained typhoon intensity on September 15. Olive reached Category 5 intensity on the modern-day
Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale on September 16.
Olive produced significant damage on Wake Island, where wind gusts reached . Significant flooding was reported, and the majority of the structures were destroyed. However, few injuries were reported, and the island's facilities were restored in 1953. Typhoon Olive remains one of the most intense tropical cyclones to affect the island.
Meteorological history
On September 8, an area of disturbed weather, located near
12.0°N 169.0°W, was plotted as a
tropical wave on
surface weather maps. Operationally, however, the system was not classified as a
tropical storm
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dependi ...
until September 15;
however, postseason analysis determined that the system acquired tropical storm intensity on 0000
UTC on September 15.
Tropical Storm Olive, moving west-northwest near , turned toward
Wake Island
Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...
on September 15. Around 1800 UTC Olive was upgraded into typhoon, with winds of . Continuing to intensify, Olive passed near Wake Island, where maximum sustained winds of were recorded. Around this time, reconnaissance aircraft reported a minimum central pressure of 945 mbar (hPa; 27.91 inHg).
On September 16, Olive intensified from a Category 2 to a Category 4 typhoon, attained the equivalence of
super typhoon intensity, and strengthened to a peak intensity of the following day far from land. On September 18, Olive weakened from a Category 5 to a Category 2 typhoon and recurved northeast. On September 19, the cyclone lost typhoon intensity. Tropical Storm Olive transitioned into an
extratropical cyclone and was last monitored on September 21.
Preparations and impact
On
Wake Island
Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...
, 750 people sheltered in World War II
bunker
A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...
s.
[''The Clipper'' publication. ''Atoll Island Ravaged by Wind and Rain but No One is Seriously Injured; Eyewitnesses Tell Story'' (September 25, 1952). Pan American World Airways Pacific-Alaska Division.] Olive, the second typhoon to affect the island since 1935, produced sustained wind speeds of and peak gusts of on the island. Significant flooding was also recorded.
Damage was severe; it is estimated that 85% of the island's structures were demolished due to the storm.
All of the homes and the island's hotel were destroyed. Additionally, the island's chapel and quonset huts were destroyed.
The island's LORAN station, operated by the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
, was also destroyed.
On September 18, water and power services were restored.
[''The Clipper'' publication. ''Plans to Rebuild Wake are Already Under Way'' (September 25, 1952). Pan American World Airways Pacific-Alaska Division.] The facilities on the island were fully restored in 1953.
The total cost to repair damages caused by Olive amounted to $1.6 million (1952 USD; $13 million 2009 USD).
No fatalities occurred on the island, and four injuries were reported. None of the 230
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
employees received injuries.
See also
*
Other tropical cyclones named Olive
*
Typhoon Hester
*
Typhoon Sarah
*
Hurricane Ioke
Hurricane Ioke, also referred to as Typhoon Ioke, had the highest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) of any tropical cyclone on record. The first and only storm to form in the Central Pacific in the 2006 Pacific hurricane season, Ioke was a reco ...
References
External links
JMA General Informationof Typhoon Olive (5213) from Digital Typhoon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olive (1952)
1952 Pacific typhoon season
Typhoon Olive (1952)
Typhoons
September 1952 events in Oceania