The 1958 Pacific typhoon season was an event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The season had no official bounds, but tropical cyclones in the Western Pacific Ocean normally develop between May and October. The season was below average in storms, with only twenty-three, but there were a high 21 typhoons. In addition to these, there were also nine tropical storms tracked only by the JMA. The season began very early, with a very rare super typhoon in January, Ophelia, and ended in early December with Typhoon Olga.
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
1958 Pacific hurricane season
The 1958 Pacific hurricane season saw thirteen tropical systems. It officially started on May 15, 1958, in the eastern Pacific and lasted until November 30, 1958.
Systems
Hurricane One
On June 14, a tropical storm hit southern Mexico.
Tropi ...
. Tropical Storms formed 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
ImageSize = width:962 height:230
PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:25 left:20
Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270
AlignBars = early
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1958 till:31/12/1958
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/01/1958
Colors =
id:canvas value:gray(0.88)
id:GP value:red
id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_≤39_mph_(0–62_km/h)_(TD)
id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117_km/h)_(TS)
id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(118–153_km/h)_(C1)
id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96–110_mph_(154–177_km/h)_(C2)
id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111–129_mph_(178–208_km/h)_(C3)
id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130–156_mph_(209–251_km/h)_(C4)
id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_≥157_mph_(≥252_km/h)_(C5)
Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas
BarData =
barset:Hurricane
bar:Month
PlotData=
barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till
from:06/01/1958 till:17/01/1958 color:C5 text:"Ophelia"
from:29/04/1958 till:30/04/1958 color:TS text:"Two"
from:23/05/1958 till:02/06/1958 color:C5 text:"Phyllis"
from:26/05/1958 till:06/06/1958 color:TS text:"Four"
from:07/06/1958 till:13/06/1958 color:C1 text:"Rita"
from:08/06/1958 till:13/06/1958 color:TS text:"Six"
from:13/06/1958 till:17/06/1958 color:C3 text:"Susan"
from:28/06/1958 till:06/07/1958 color:C1 text:"Tess"
from:08/07/1958 till:14/07/1958 color:C3 text:"Viola"
barset:break
from:11/07/1958 till:17/07/1958 color:C5 text:"Winnie"
from:13/07/1958 till:16/07/1958 color:TS text:"Betty"
from:13/07/1958 till:24/07/1958 color:C4 text:"Alice"
from:19/07/1958 till:25/07/1958 color:TS text:"Fourteen"
from:22/07/1958 till:29/07/1958 color:C4 text:"Doris"
from:04/08/1958 till:09/08/1958 color:C1 text:"Elsie"
from:05/08/1958 till:11/08/1958 color:C1 text:"Sixteen"
from:21/08/1958 till:26/08/1958 color:C2 text:"Flossie"
from:02/09/1958 till:10/09/1958 color:C5 text:"Grace"
barset:break
from:09/09/1958 till:20/09/1958 color:C5 text:"Helen"
from:20/09/1958 till:27/09/1958 color:C5 text:"Ida"
from:20/09/1958 till:22/09/1958 color:C1 text:"June"
from:21/10/1958 till:27/10/1958 color:C3 text:"Kathy"
from:23/10/1958 till:03/11/1958 color:C3 text:"Lorna"
from:26/10/1958 till:03/11/1958 color:C4 text:"Marie"
from:21/11/1958 till:26/11/1958 color:C5 text:"Nancy"
from:30/11/1958 till:04/12/1958 color:TS text:"Pamela"
from:02/12/1958 till:08/12/1958 color:C4 text:"Olga"
bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas
from:01/01/1958 till:01/02/1958 text:January
from:01/02/1958 till:01/03/1958 text:February
from:01/03/1958 till:01/04/1958 text:March
from:01/04/1958 till:01/05/1958 text:April
from:01/05/1958 till:01/06/1958 text:May
from:01/06/1958 till:01/07/1958 text:June
from:01/07/1958 till:01/08/1958 text:July
from:01/08/1958 till:01/09/1958 text:August
from:01/09/1958 till:01/10/1958 text:September
from:01/10/1958 till:01/11/1958 text:October
from:01/11/1958 till:01/12/1958 text:November
from:01/12/1958 till:31/12/1958 text:December
TextData =
pos:(570,30)
text:"(From the"
pos:(617,30)
text:" Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale)"
Typhoon Ophelia
At noon on December 31, a vortex was noted along the
Intertropical Convergence Zone
The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the thermal e ...
about south of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. On January 7, the relatively small tropical storm struck
Jaluit Atoll
Jaluit Atoll ( Marshallese: , , or , ) is a large coral atoll of 91 islands in the Pacific Ocean and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon with an area of . Most ...
within the southern
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
, killing 14 people. It rapidly intensified, and reached winds of the next day. Conditions became unfavorable, and steadily weakened to winds. Ponape was struck on January 10, where Ophelia tore off the roof of the
United States Weather Bureau
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the p ...
office. On January 11,
Truk was struck. The Weather Bureau's inflation shelter was destroyed, with other buildings on site severely damaged. On the 12th, favorable conditions allowed Ophelia to reintensify, reaching a peak of on the 13th. Ophelia severely impacted
Yap
Yap ( yap, Waqaab) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federated States of Micro ...
, removing the Weather Bureau office's sheet metal roof and damaging the inflation building, theodolite, and radio antenna. After maintaining that intensity for 18 hours, it quickly weakened as it drifted northward, and dissipated on the 17th. Typhoon Ophelia caused widespread damage on several islands of the Western Pacific.
[Bikini Atoll History]
/ref> Ophelia also killed nine people when a USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
WB-50 crashed during a recon flight into the storm on January 15.[Deadly Hurricane Hunter Flights]
/ref>
JMA Tropical Storm Two
Tropical Storm 02 developed on April 29. It struck 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 ...
before dissipating on the following day.
Typhoon Phyllis
On May 29, Super Typhoon Phyllis attained a peak of , the strongest typhoon ever in the month of May. Phyllis remained over open waters, and dissipated on the 2nd to the southeast of Japan. Phyllis's record was surpassed by Typhoon Damrey in 2000, and later Typhoon Noul in 2015.
JMA Tropical Storm Four
Tropical Storm 04 developed in the South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
on May 26. It struck the Chinese province of Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
and Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
, before dissipating on June 6.
Typhoon Rita
Typhoon Rita existed from June 7 to June 13.
JMA Tropical Storm Six
Tropical Storm 06 developed on June 8. It crossed the Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...
of Japan, before dissipating on June 13.
Typhoon Susan
Typhoon Susan existed from June 13 to June 17.
Typhoon Tess
Typhoon Tess developed in the vicinity of the Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...
on June 28. The storm moved generally west-northwestward and northwestward, reaching the Ryukyu Islands before dissipating on July 6.
Typhoon Viola
Typhoon Viola existed from July 8 to July 14.
Typhoon Winnie
Tropical Storm Winnie formed on July 12 to the east of Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
. It moved northwestward, rapidly intensifying to a Category 4 typhoon within 12 hours. The typhoon weakened slightly, but rapidly strengthened to a super typhoon just before hitting eastern Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
on the 15th. Winnie rapidly weakened over the mountainous terrain, and after crossing the Formosa Strait Winnie hit southeastern China. It continued to weaken over land, and dissipated on the 17th.[1958 Best Track](_blank)
/ref> Winnie caused 31 casualties and 53 injuries in Taiwan while crossing.
Typhoon Betty
Typhoon Betty existed in the South China Sea from July 13 to July 16.
Typhoon Alice
Tropical Storm Alice developed on July 14 in the open western Pacific Ocean. It moved to the northwest and attained typhoon status on the 16th. Alice rapidly intensified on the 19th to a super typhoon, and after turning to the northeast it weakened. Alice hit southeastern Japan on the 22nd, and became extratropical on the 24th near the Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and we ...
.
Shortly after Typhoon Alice made landfall, storm surges
A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the no ...
occurred in Tokyo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...
, causing floods in Kōtō
is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward located in Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 488,632, and a population density of 12,170 pers ...
and Edogawa on Shitamachi
and are traditional names for two areas of Tokyo, Japan. Yamanote refers to the affluent, upper-class areas of Tokyo west of the Imperial Palace.Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version While citizens once considered it as ...
region. In the area of Kameido (now a station), storm surge in Tokyo Bay reached 2.89 meters in height. Storm surges caused flooding of rivers
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
around Tokyo Bay that damaged 21 ships, damaged 27,673 hectare of crops, destroyed 1,089 and inundated 46,243 houses. Alice caused the deaths of 26 people in total, injuring 64 people and 14 people went missing.
JMA Tropical Storm Fourteen
Tropical Storm Fourteen developed in the South China Sea on July 19. It struck 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 dissipating on July 25.
Typhoon Doris
Typhoon Doris existed from July 22 to July 29.
JMA Tropical Storm Sixteen
Typhoon 16 developed in the South China Sea on August 5. It struck China before dissipating on August 11.
Typhoon Elsie
Typhoon Elsie existed from August 4 to August 9.
Typhoon Flossie
On August 21, a tropical depression formed in the open ocean and moved northward. It reached tropical storm status later that day, and attained typhoon strength on the 22nd. Flossie peaked at on the 22nd, and weakened to a tropical storm just before hitting the southeastern coast of Japan on the 25th. Flossie turned to the east, and after becoming extratropical on the 26th the storm dissipated on the 27th. The storm caused 15 casualties (with 30 missing) and 39 injuries in Tokyo.
JMA Tropical Storm Eighteen
Tropical Storm 18 existed from August 25 to August 31.
Typhoon Grace
Another typhoon developed in the vicinity of the Federated States of Micronesia on August 29. The system moved northwestward and eventually strengthened into a super typhoon. Grace peaked with a minimum barometric pressure of . It later struck 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 ...
before becoming extratropical on September 5.
JMA Tropical Storm Twenty
Tropical Storm 24 existed from September 2 to September 13.
Typhoon Helen
Typhoon Helen, which formed on September 9, rapidly intensified to a super typhoon on the 14th. It moved to the northeast, and steadily weakened until hitting southeastern Japan as a typhoon on the 17th. It paralleled the Japanese coastline, and after turning northward it became extratropical on the 19th in the Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...
. Helen's effects caused 24 fatalities (with 44 missing) and 108 injuries.
Typhoon Ida
On September 20, Tropical Storm Ida formed in the central Western Pacific. It moved to the west, rapidly strengthening to a typhoon by the next day. On the 22nd Ida turned to the north and quickly intensified, reaching super typhoon status on the 23rd and peak winds of on the 24th. Such winds are speculative, due to the lack of satellite or quality in measurements, but Ida was likely a formidable typhoon with a record low pressure (at the time) of 877 mbar
The bar is a metric unit of pressure, but not part of the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as exactly equal to 100,000 Pa (100 kPa), or slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea leve ...
.[Camille Info]
/ref> Ida weakened as it continued to the north-northeast, and made landfall on southeastern Honshū
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...
with winds of on the 26th. It became extratropical the next day, and dissipated on the 28th to the east of the country. Ida caused torrential flooding to southeastern Japan, resulting in over 1,900 mudslides. Damage along the coastline was extensive, including two small villages that were washed away completely. Nearly 500,000 were left homeless,[Time.com]
/ref> 888 were killed, 496 were injured, and 381 were missing from the storm.[Digital Typhoon: Disaster Information](_blank)
/ref>
Typhoon June
Typhoon June existed from September 20 to September 22. It briefly crossed the dateline similar to hurricane Patsy in the 1959 pacific hurricane season.
JMA Tropical Storm Twenty-four
Tropical Storm 24 existed from September 24 to September 29.
Typhoon Kathy
Typhoon Kathy developed just east of the Philippines on October 21. It moved across the islands and entered the South China Sea. There, the system strengthened, and subsequently dissipated on October 27.
Typhoon Lorna
Typhoon Lorna existed from October 23 to November 3.
Typhoon Marie
Typhoon Marie existed from October 26 to November 3.
Typhoon Nancy
Typhoon Nancy developed near Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
on November 21. The system strengthened into a super typhoon, peaking with a minimum barometric pressure of . Nancy dissipated on November 26.
Tropical Storm Pamela
Tropical Storm Pamela existed from November 30 to December 4.
Typhoon Olga
Typhoon Olga existed from December 2 to December 8.
JMA Tropical Storm Thirty-one
Typhoon 31 existed from December 9 to December 12.
Storm names
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
...
References
External links
Japan Meteorological Agency
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
.
China Meteorological Agency
National Weather Service Guam
Macau Meteorological Geophysical Services
Korea Meteorological Agency
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
Digital Typhoon - Typhoon Images and Information
Typhoon2000 Philippine typhoon website
{{DEFAULTSORT:1958 Pacific Typhoon Season
1958 Pacific typhoon season,