1971 Pacific typhoon season
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The 1971 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1971, 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. Storms that form east of the date line and north of the equator are called hurricanes; see 1971 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 Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA. This can often result in the same storm having two names.
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[edit] Storms
38 tropical depressions formed this year in the Western Pacific, of which 34 became tropical storms. 24 storms reached typhoon intensity, of which 6 reached super typhoon strength. The season had an extremely active start, with 11 storms forming before July 1st and 19 storms before August 1st.
[edit] Typhoon Wanda
On April 23 Tropical Storm Wanda began its life to the east of the Philippines. It tracked over the archipelago, and emerged into the South China Sea on the 25th. It turned to the northwest, and became a typhoon on May 1 just off the coast of Vietnam. The westerlies brought Wanda to the north and northeast, where it weakened until dissipating on the 4th near Hainan Island. The storm caused 56 deaths (with 39 missing) and $700,000 in damage (1971 USD) from the heavy flooding.
[edit] Super Typhoon Nadine
Typhoon Nadine, which formed on July 20, quickly strengthened to a peak of 175 mph on the 24th. It weakened slightly as it continued its northwest movement, and struck eastern Taiwan on the 25th with winds of over 100 mph. Nadine dissipated the next day over China, after causing 28 deaths (with 25 missing) and heavy damage on Taiwan from the flooding. Nadine also caused the crash of a Pan American cargo aircraft, killing its four person crew.
[edit] Typhoon Olive
85 mph Typhoon Olive, which developed on July 29 from the near equatorial trough, hit southwestern Japan on August 4. It continued northward, and became extratropical in the Sea of Japan. Olive's heavy rains resulted in numerous mudslides, killing 69 people.
[edit] Typhoon Rose
- Main article: Typhoon Rose (1971)
A small circulation near Chuuk organized into Tropical Storm Rose on August 10. An extremely small cyclone with a wind field of 150 nautical miles across, Rose quickly strengthened, and became a typhoon later that day. It briefly weakened to a tropical storm on the 11th, but restrengthened to a typhoon as it continued westward. On August 13, Typhoon Rose made landfall on northeastern Luzon with winds of 130 mph. It weakened to a minimal typhoon over the mountainous terrain, but in the South China Sea, Rose rapidly intensified, and peaked at 140 mph winds on the 16th. As it approached the coast of Hong Kong, the inflow became disrupted, but Rose still hit as a 100 mph typhoon on the 16th. The typhoon dissipated the next day, after causing 130 deaths in Hong Kong and leaving 5,600 people homeless. A Macao ferry was capsized, resulting in the loss of its 88 person crew.
[edit] Typhoon Trix
An upper level low contributed to the birth of Tropical Storm Trix on August 20. After drifting northward, the storm turned to the west in response to the building of the subtropical ridge. Trix slowly strengthened after becoming a typhoon on the 21st, and reached a peak of 115 mph winds on the 28th. Trix recurved, and struck southwestern Japan on the 29th as a 95 mph typhoon. It accelerated to the northeast, and became extratropical on the 30th. Just weeks after Typhoon Olive, Trix dropped more heavy rain to the country, in one case as much as 43 inches of rain. Trix caused 44 deaths, with heavy crop damage amounting to $50.6 million.
[edit] Typhoon Virginia
Within one month of Typhoons Trix and Olive, Typhoon Virginia came up the Japanese coast with winds of 80 mph. It became extratropical on September 7 just east of Japan, after dropping more heavy rain causing 56 casualties from numerous landslides.
[edit] Super Typhoon Bess
Super Typhoon Bess, having peaked at 160 mph on September 20, tracked west-northwestward. The typhoon weakened as it continued its movement, and struck eastern Taiwan on the 22nd as a 130 mph typhoon. It rapidly weakened over the country, and dissipated on the 23rd over China. The typhoon caused heavy flooding, resulting in 32 deaths and moderate crop damage.
[edit] Typhoon Faye
A tropical disturbance east of the Marianas Islands developed into Tropical Storm Faye on October 4. After peaking at 75 mph on the 5th, Faye became very disorganized, and weakened to a tropical depression on the 7th. At this time, there were several circulations, so it is possible that Faye was absorbed by another disturbance to its south. Regardless, the storm re-organized as it approached the Philippines. Faye crossed the islands on the 10th as a minimal tropical storm, and again became a typhoon in the South China Sea on the 11th. Steering currents became weak, and a northwest flow forced Faye southeastward back into the Philippines. Faye crossed the islands on the 12th, and dissipated on the 13th, after causing torrential rainfall killing 13 people with 80 missing. The death toll is combined with another Tropical Storm, Gloria, that hit the area days before Faye.
[edit] Typhoon Hester
On October 19 and 20, Tropical Storm Hester developed and crossed the Southern Philippines. Upon moving northwestward through the South China Sea, Hester strengthened, reaching a peak of 100 mph winds just before striking central Vietnam on the 23rd. Due to the Vietnam War going on at the time, Hester caused heavy damage to both Vietnamese and Americans, killing 3 Americans and 85 Vietnamese.
[edit] Super Typhoon Irma
The final and strongest storm of the season, Irma, reached a peak intensity of 180 mph on November 11. It remained at sea, effecting only shipping and causing minor damage to the islands of the West Pacific.
[edit] 1971 storm names
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