1958 Pacific typhoon season

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The 1958 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1958, 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 1958 Pacific hurricane season. Tropical Storms formed in the entire west pacific basin were assigned a name by the Fleet Weather Center on Guam.

Pacific Typhoon Seasons
1956 1957 1958 1959 1960

1 Storms
2 1958 storm names
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Storms

[edit] Super Typhoon Ophelia

On January 7, a tropical storm developed over the open waters of the western Pacific. It rapidly intensified, and reached winds of 140 mph the next day. Conditions became unfavorable, and steadily weakened to 105 mph winds. On the 12th, favorable conditions allowed Ophelia to reintensify, reaching a peak of 160 mph on the 13th. After maintaining that intensity for 18 hours, it quickly weakened as it drifted northward, and dissipated on the 16th. Typhoon Ophelia caused widespread destruction on Jaluit and other islands of the Western Pacific. ^[1] Ophelia also killed nine people when a USAF WB-50 crashed during a recon flight into the storm on January 15.^[2]

[edit] Super Typhoon Phyllis

On May 29, Super Typhoon Phyllis attained a peak of 185 mph, the strongest typhoon ever in the month of May. Phyllis remained over open waters, and dissipated on the 2nd to the southeast of Japan.

[edit] Super Typhoon Winnie

Tropical Storm Winnie formed on July 12 to the east of Luzon. It moved northwestward, rapidly intensifying to a Category 4 typhoon within 12 hours. The typhoon weakened slightly, but rapidly strengthened to a 175 mph super typhoon just before hitting eastern Taiwan 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. ^[3] Winnie caused 31 casualties and 53 injuries in Taiwan while crossing. ^[4]

[edit] 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 19th to a 150 mph 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. ^[3] Alice was responsible for 41 deaths (with 8 missing) and 61 injuries in Hokkaidō. ^[4]

[edit] 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 105 mph on the 22nd, and weakened to a 70 mph 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. ^[3] The storm caused 15 casualties (with 30 missing) and 39 injuries in Tokyo. ^[4]

[edit] Super Typhoon Helen

Typhoon Helen, which formed on September 9, rapidly intensified to a 175 super typhoon on the 14th. It moved to the northeast, and steadily weakened until hitting southeastern Japan as a 105 mph typhoon on the 17th. It paralleled the Japanese coastline, and after turning northward it became extratropical on the 19th in the Sea of Okhotsk. ^[3] Helen's effects caused 24 fatalities (with 44 missing) and 108 injuries. ^[4]

[edit] Super Typhoon Ida

On September 20, Tropical Storm Ida formed in the central Western Pacific. It moved to the west, rapidly strengthening to a 115 mph 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 200 mph 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.^[5] Ida weakened as it continued to the north-northeast, and made landfall on southeastern Honshū with winds of 80 mph on the 26th. It became extratropical the next day, and dissipated on the 28th to the east of the country.^[3] 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,^[6] 579 were killed, 496 were injured, and 500 were missing from the storm.