| 1962 Pacific Typhoon Season |
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Information About1962 Pacific Typhoon Season |
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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 1962 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. STORMS Typhoon Kate Tropical Storm Kate, which formed on July 18 a short distance east of northern Luzon , became a typhoon on the 20th in the South China Sea. After looping, it moved to the north, where it struck southeastern Taiwan on the 22nd. It turned to the northwest, and dissipated over eastern China on the 24th. Kate was reponsible for $25 million in damage (1962 USD) and 110 deaths. Super Typhoon Opal On July 30 , a tropical depression developed over the open Western Pacific waters, likely from the monsoon trough. After tracking westward without strengthening, it turned to the northwest, where it quickly intensified into a tropical storm on August 1 and into a typhoon on the 2nd. On the 5th, Opal peaked at 165 mph, and hit northeastern Taiwan at that intensity on the night of the 5th. It weakened over the island, and hit eastern China the following morning. Opal turned and accellerated to the north, and dissipated over northeastern China on the 7th. The storm caused 75 deaths and $25 million (1962 USD) in crop and structual damage. Typhoon Patsy Tropical Storm Patsy crossed the central Philippines on August 7 and 8, and strengthened into a typhoon in the South China Sea. After weakening to a tropical storm while moving northwestward, Patsy hit Hainan Island , turned to the west, crossed the Gulf of Tonkin, and dissipated over Vietnam on the 11th. Patsy's heavy rain and flooding caused 23 casualties and $2.5 million in damage (1962 USD). Typhoon Wanda Typhoon Wanda reached a Category 2 strength as it moved through the Luzon strait on August 30 . It continued its westward motion, peaking at 110 mph before cold air was entrained in the circulation. Wanda hit near Hong Kong on September 1 as a strong tropical storm, and dissipated later that day. Wanda was responsible for 434 fatalities, with millions of damage occurring. Typhoon Amy Typhoon Amy, which formed on August 29 , quickly intensified on the 31st and 1st to a 160 mph super typhoon. It weakened slightly as it continued its west-northwest movement, but still hit Taiwan as a 150 mph super typhoon on September 5 . After weakening over the island, Amy hit southeastern China late on the 5th as a strong tropical storm. It turned northeastward, hit South Korea as a minimal tropical storm on the 7th, and dissipated on the 8th. Amy's flooding killed 24 people, with millions of dollars in damage. Typhoon Freda Typhoon Freda began as an ordinary tropical cyclone on October 3 , when it developed 500 miles off of Wake Island . It moved to the northeast, then turned to a northwest where it strengthened into a typhoon and peaked at 115 mph on the 5th. Freda then turned and accellerated to the northeast, where it weakened until becoming extratropical on October 10 to the south of the Aleutian Islands . The extratropical remnants of Freda headed to the east, and hit Victoria, British Columbia on October 12 with winds of 45-50 mph, with wind gusts up to 90 mph. There, great damage was seen across the Pacific northwest, causing a major disruption in daily life with power outages and store closings from shattered windows. As an extratropical storm, Freda caused an estimated $10 million in damage (1962 USD, $500 million 2005 USD), with 7 deaths occurring. For more information on the extratropical renmants, see the Columbus Day Storm Of 1962 . Tropical Storm Harriet Tropical Storm Harriet was first observed on October 25 , just off the east coast of Thailand . It hit that night as a 60 mph tropical storm, and crossed into the Indian Ocean. During landfall its Storm Surge flooded the Laem Talumphuk peninsula in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province . There, it moved to the northwest, then recurved to the northeast. It hit Bangladesh on October 30 , and dissipated the next day. Harriet caused 769 fatalities (with 142 missing) and injured 252. The next storm that devestating for the Malay Peninsula would be Typhoon Gay of 1989. Super Typhoon Karen Typhoon Karen, which formed on November 7 in the open Western Pacific, explosively intensified to a 185 mph super typhoon on the 9th. It turned to the west, maintaining its powerful winds of 175-185 mph for 4 days as it crossed the islands of the West Pacific. Cool air weakened Karen as it turned to the north, and was only a minimal typhoon at its nearest approach to Japan. The storm turned eastward, where it became extratropical on November 18 . Karen's strong winds caused $250 million in damage (1962 USD) and 11 casualties. Typhoon Lucy When Typhoon Lucy made landfall on the Philippines and southern Vietnam in late November, 5 people were killed, with $5 million in damage being seen. Lucy dissipated in the Gulf of Taiwan on December 1 from cold air and land interaction. 1962 STORM NAMES The name Babs, Charlotte and Karen was retired after this year. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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