1968 Pacific typhoon season
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The 1968 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1968, 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.
(1-minute sustained)
| 1968 Pacific typhoon season | |
|---|---|
Season summary map | |
| Seasonal boundaries | |
| First system formed | January 20, 1968 |
| Last system dissipated | December 7, 1968 |
| Strongest storm | |
| Name | Agnes |
| • Maximum winds | 280 km/h (175 mph) (1-minute sustained) |
| • Lowest pressure | 900 hPa (mbar) |
| Seasonal statistics | |
| Total depressions | 39 |
| Total storms | 28 |
| Typhoons | 20 |
| Super typhoons | 4 (unofficial) |
| Total fatalities | 148 |
| Total damage | Unknown |
| Related articles | |
The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Storms that form east of the date line and north of the equator are called hurricanes; see 1968 Pacific hurricane season. Tropical Storms formed in the entire west pacific basin were assigned a name by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Tropical depressions in this basin have the "W" suffix added to their number. Tropical depressions that enter or form in the Philippine area of responsibility are assigned a name by the Philippine Weather Bureau, the predecessor of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). This can often result in the same storm having two names.
Systems
31 tropical depressions formed this year in the Western Pacific, of which 27 became tropical storms. 20 storms reached typhoon intensity, of which 4 reached super typhoon strength. No storms this season caused significant damage or deaths.
CMA Tropical Depression 01
A tropical depression formed to the northwest of Palau. Moving north-northwest, the depression degenerated to a remnant low as it made a counterclockwise direction before dissipating.
Tropical Storm 01W (Asiang)
01W formed east of the Philippines on February 28. It moved northwest, intensified into a tropical storm and soon dissipated on March 2.
Typhoon Jean
Jean formed southeast of Guam on April 5. It moved northwest in the following days, strengthening to a Category 3 Typhoon with winds of 285km/h and central pressure of 935 hPa. The storm later curved northwest and dissipated on April 19.
Typhoon Kim (Biring)
Kim formed southeast of Guam on May 28. It intensified into a Category 3 typhoon while curving northeast. Kim slowly weakened as it moved north. The storm dissipated on June 5.
Tropical Depression 04W
04W was an extremely short-lived storm that only lasted for a day.
Tropical Storm 05W
05W was a weak tropical storm that existed from June 4 to June 8.
Typhoon Lucy (Konsing)
Lucy was a category 3 typhoon that existed from May 28 to June 5.
Typhoon Mary
Mary was a Category 4 super typhoon. It formed on July 19. Mary hit Japan as a tropical storm and dissipated on August 3.
Severe Tropical Storm Nadine (Didang)
Nadine existed from July 20 to July 28.
Tropical Storm Olive (Edeng)
Olive existed from July 21 to July 28.
CMA Tropical Depression 11
The storm didn't affect land.
CMA Tropical Depression 12
The storm didn't affect land.
CMA Tropical Depression 13
The storm hit China as a tropical depression.
Severe Tropical Storm Polly
Tropical Storm Polly dropped heavy rains on the southern islands of Japan. 112 people were killed and 21 were missing from the floods and landslides caused by Polly's heavy rains.[1]
On August 18, two sightseeing buses were involved in the landslide in Shirakawa, Gifu, it fell to the Hida River, and 96 persons died and 8 persons became missing (Japanese article).
Tropical Depression 11W
| Tropical depression (JMA) | |
| Tropical depression (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | August 7 – August 7 |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 35 km/h (25 mph) (10-min); |
11W was a short-lived weak tropical depression.
Severe Tropical Storm Rose (Gloring)
Rose made landfall in the Philippines and China as a tropical storm.
CMA Tropical Depression 16
The storm stayed out at sea.
Typhoon Shirley (Huaning)
Shirley hit Luzon and Hong Kong as a tropical storm.
Severe Tropical Storm Trix (Iniang)
Severe Tropical Storm Trix struck the southern islands of Kyūshū and Shikoku. Heavy flooding killed 25 people and left 2 missing.[1]
CMA Tropical Depression 18
Severe Tropical Storm Virginia
| Severe tropical storm (JMA) | |
| Tropical storm (SSHWS) | |
  | |
| Duration | August 24 – August 26 (exited basin) |
|---|---|
| Peak intensity | 95 km/h (60 mph) (1-min); 990 hPa (mbar) |
Virginia was first noticed near the International Date Line, about 500 kilometers (310 mi) northwest of Midway Islands. The system organized and the first advisory was issued on August 25 at 0006Z, with winds of 35 knots (40 mph). 18 hours later, Virginia crossed the date line, with winds of 50 knots (60 mph). It later became extratropical on August 27 in the Gulf of Alaska.
Super Typhoon Wendy (Lusing)
Tropical Storm Wendy, which formed on August 28 in the open Western Pacific, quickly intensified to a peak of 160 mph winds on the 31st. It steadily weakened as it moved westward, and passed by southern Taiwan on September 5 as a minimal typhoon. Wendy continued to weaken, and after crossing the South China Sea, Wendy dissipated over northern Vietnam on the 9th.
A weather station in Phù Liễn (Hải Phòng) recorded wind gusts reaching up to 205 km/h or even higher, exceeding the measuring capacity of the anemometer.[2] In Hải Phòng alone, the storm caused 155 deaths and injured 400 people.[3]
Super Typhoon Agnes
Typhoon Agnes originated as a low-pressure area in the western Pacific on August 27. Initially classified as a tropical disturbance, it tracked west-northwestward, intensifying into a tropical depression by August 28 and reaching tropical storm status by August 29 near the Marshall Islands. Agnes underwent rapid intensify between September 2–3, achieving super typhoon status with 1-minute sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h) and a lowest central pressure of 900 hPa, making it the most intense storm of the 1968 Pacific season. During this phase, it followed a west-northwest trajectory across the Philippine Sea, accelerating to speeds of 24.7 km/h. By September 4, Agnes began recurving northeastward south of Japan, and weakened to a Category 1 typhoon by September 7. It transitioned into an extratropical cyclone northeast of Japan on September 10 and fully dissipated over the North Pacific on September 11.
Typhoon Bess
Bess was a Category 1 typhoon that hit China.
CMA Tropical Depression 24
Typhoon Carmen
Carmen was a category 3 typhoon that didn't affect land.
Typhoon Della (Maring)
Typhoon Della struck Kyūshū Island in southern Japan with winds of 100 mph. Della killed 11 throughout southern Japan.[1]
Super Typhoon Elaine (Nitang)
Super Typhoon Elaine, after peaking at 175 mph winds, weakened to hit extreme northern Luzon on September 28 as a 130 mph typhoon. It continued to the northwest, and after hitting southeastern China as a minimal tropical storm Elaine dissipated on October 1.
Super Typhoon Faye
Faye was a Category 5 super typhoon that didn't make landfall.
Typhoon Gloria (Osang)
Gloria was a category 2 typhoon that didn't make landfall.
CMA Tropical Depression 29
Severe Tropical Storm Hester
Hester hit Vietnam as a tropical storm.
Typhoon Irma
Irma was a category 1 typhoon that didn't make landfall.
Typhoon Judy (Paring)
Judy was a category 4 typhoon that didn't affect land.
Typhoon Kit
Kit was a category 1 typhoon that existed from October 26 to November 5.
Typhoon Lola
Lola was a Category 3 typhoon that stayed out to sea.
Typhoon Mamie (Reming)
Mamie hit the Philippines as a tropical storm.
Typhoon Nina (Seniang)
Nina hit the Philippines as a tropical storm, and later intensified to a category 1 typhoon east of Vietnam.
Typhoon Ora (Toyang)
A typhoon that made landfall in the Philippines as a category 1 and impacted most of the northern Philippines as a tropical storm.
Storm names
Western North Pacific tropical cyclones were named by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The first storm of 1968 was named Jean and the final one was named Ora.
|
|
|
|
Philippines
| Asiang | Biring | Konsing | Didang | Edeng |
| Gloring | Huaning | Iniang[4] | Lusing | Maring |
| Nitang | Osang | Paring | Reming | Seniang |
| Toyang | Undang (unused) | Welpring (unused) | Yoning (unused) | |
| Auxiliary list | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aring (unused) | ||||
| Basiang (unused) | Kayang (unused) | Dorang (unused) | Enang (unused) | Grasing (unused) |
The Philippine Weather Bureau (later renamed to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration in 1972) uses its own naming scheme for tropical cyclones in their area of responsibility. PAGASA assigns names to tropical depressions that form within their area of responsibility and any tropical cyclone that might move into their area of responsibility. Should the list of names for a given year prove to be insufficient, names are taken from an auxiliary list, the first 6 of which are published each year before the season starts. Names not retired from this list will be used again in the 1972 season. This is the same list used for the 1964 season, except for Didang and Iniang, which replaced Dading and Isang; the latter would later be reintroduced in 1972 for reasons still unknown. The Philippine Weather Bureau and its successor PAGASA uses its own naming scheme that starts in the Filipino alphabet, with names of Filipino female names ending with "ng" (A, B, K, D, etc.). Names that were not assigned/going to use are marked in gray.
Season effects
This table will list all the storms that developed in the northwestern Pacific Ocean west of the International Date Line and north of the equator during 1968. It will include their intensity, duration, name, areas affected, deaths, missing persons (in parentheses), and damage totals. Classification and intensity values will be based on estimations conducted by the JMA, however due to lack of information around this time sustained winds were recorded by the JTWC. All damage figures will be in 1968 USD. Damages and deaths from a storm will include when the storm was a precursor wave or an extratropical low.
| Name | Dates | Peak intensity | Areas affected | Damage (USD) |
Deaths | Ref(s). | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Wind speed | Pressure | ||||||
| TD | January 20–26 | Tropical depression | Not specified | 1,002 hPa (29.59 inHg) | None | None | None | |
| TD | November 3–4 | Tropical depression | Not specified | 1,006 hPa (29.71 inHg) | None | None | None | |
| Lola | November 5–12 | Typhoon | 195 km/h (120 mph) | 940 hPa (27.76 inHg) | Mariana Islands | None | None | |
| Mamie (Reming) | November 9–25 | Typhoon | 120 km/h (75 mph) | 975 hPa (28.79 inHg) | Philippines, Vietnam | None | None | |
| Nina (Seniang) | November 15–29 | Typhoon | 130 km/h (80 mph) | 960 hPa (28.35 inHg) | Philippines, Vietnam | None | None | |
| Ora (Toyang) | November 19–30 | Typhoon | 220 km/h (135 mph) | 930 hPa (27.46 inHg) | Philippines | None | None | |
| TD | December 7 | Tropical depression | Not specified | 1,007 hPa (29.74 inHg) | Caroline Islands | None | None | |