The 1955 season

Typhoon Clara (1955)

Typhoon Clara reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between July 5, 1955 and July 18, 1955, with a lowest pressure of 920 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Clara, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1955 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
July 5, 1955 to July 18, 1955
Peak strength
Category 4, 125 kt (144 mph)
Lowest pressure
920 mb (27.17 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
28.1
Identifier
WP051955

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Jul 5, 00:0010.0N 147.0E1008 mbMixed
Jul 5, 06:0010.8N 146.3E1008 mbMixed
Jul 5, 12:0011.5N 145.6E1008 mbMixed
Jul 5, 18:0012.1N 144.9E1006 mbMixed
Jul 6, 00:0012.7N 144.2E1006 mbMixed
Jul 6, 06:0012.8N 143.2E25 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Jul 6, 12:0013.3N 142.3E30 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Jul 6, 18:0013.8N 141.6E35 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Jul 7, 00:0014.3N 140.5E35 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Jul 7, 06:0014.3N 139.5E35 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Jul 7, 12:0014.4N 138.9E40 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Jul 7, 18:0014.5N 138.2E45 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Jul 8, 00:0014.5N 137.7E55 kt1005 mbTropical storm
Jul 8, 06:0014.5N 137.0E55 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 8, 12:0014.5N 136.4E65 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 8, 18:0014.5N 135.8E75 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 9, 00:0014.9N 135.5E75 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 9, 06:0015.5N 135.4E75 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jul 9, 12:0016.6N 135.1E75 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jul 9, 18:0017.1N 134.0E85 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 10, 00:0018.0N 133.4E95 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 10, 06:0019.0N 132.8E110 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 10, 12:0019.5N 131.8E110 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 10, 18:0019.9N 130.7E110 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jul 11, 00:0021.0N 130.0E120 kt965 mbTropical storm
Jul 11, 06:0021.5N 128.9E120 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jul 11, 12:0022.2N 127.9E120 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jul 11, 18:0023.0N 127.0E120 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jul 12, 00:0023.4N 125.7E120 kt940 mbTropical storm
Jul 12, 06:0024.2N 124.8E120 kt940 mbTropical storm
Jul 12, 12:0024.8N 124.7E120 kt940 mbTropical storm
Jul 12, 18:0025.4N 124.9E125 kt940 mbTropical storm
Jul 13, 00:0025.8N 125.1E125 kt920 mbTropical storm
Jul 13, 06:0026.2N 125.0E100 kt920 mbTropical storm
Jul 13, 12:0026.7N 124.9E80 kt930 mbTropical storm
Jul 13, 18:0027.2N 125.0E75 kt930 mbTropical storm
Jul 14, 00:0027.8N 125.1E70 kt940 mbTropical storm
Jul 14, 06:0028.3N 125.0E70 kt950 mbTropical storm
Jul 14, 12:0028.7N 124.8E70 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jul 14, 18:0029.1N 124.9E70 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jul 15, 00:0029.8N 125.0E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jul 15, 06:0030.5N 125.0E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jul 15, 12:0031.2N 124.8E70 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 15, 18:0032.4N 123.1E980 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 00:0033.6N 122.4E985 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 06:0034.2N 121.7E990 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 12:0034.9N 121.1E995 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 18:0035.5N 120.6E1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 00:0036.1N 120.2E1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 06:0036.6N 120.1E1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 12:0037.2N 119.8E1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 18:0037.8N 120.8E1000 mbMixed
Jul 18, 00:0038.5N 122.7EDisturbance
Jul 18, 06:0039.0N 123.0EDisturbance

Other Western Pacific storms of 1955

What this means

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Sources

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.