The 1955 season

Typhoon Ellen (1955)

Typhoon Ellen reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between July 15, 1955 and July 27, 1955, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Ellen, 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 15, 1955 to July 27, 1955
Peak strength
Category 1, 70 kt (81 mph)
Lowest pressure
955 mb (28.20 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 166 km (103 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
5.3
Identifier
WP071955

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 15, 06:0022.9N 153.0E1006 mbMixed
Jul 15, 12:0023.2N 152.3E1006 mbMixed
Jul 15, 18:0023.6N 151.6E1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 00:0023.9N 150.8E1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 06:0024.3N 150.0E1002 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 12:0024.6N 149.3E1002 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 18:0024.5N 149.3E40 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 00:0025.0N 147.6E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 06:0025.3N 146.1E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 12:0025.6N 144.6E40 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 18:0026.1N 143.2E45 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 18, 00:0026.8N 141.8E45 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 18, 06:0027.8N 140.4E50 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 18, 12:0028.9N 139.0E55 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 18, 18:0029.9N 137.5E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 19, 00:0030.4N 135.7E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 19, 06:0030.7N 135.0E70 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 19, 12:0030.8N 134.2E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 19, 18:0030.7N 133.3E40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 20, 00:0030.5N 132.8E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 20, 06:0030.2N 133.2E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 20, 12:0030.3N 133.9E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 20, 18:0030.4N 135.1E45 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 00:0030.5N 136.4E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 06:0030.6N 137.9E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 12:0030.8N 139.1E55 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 18:0031.7N 140.0E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 00:0032.6N 140.8E50 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 06:0033.7N 141.7E40 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 12:0034.7N 143.3E35 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 18:0035.7N 145.2E30 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 00:0037.4N 146.2E990 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 06:0038.7N 148.1E990 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 12:0039.8N 150.4E990 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 18:0040.9N 153.3E990 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 00:0041.9N 155.6E990 mbMixed
Jul 24, 06:0042.3N 158.4E995 mbMixed
Jul 24, 12:0042.0N 162.0E995 mbMixed
Jul 24, 18:0041.4N 166.5E995 mbExtratropical
Jul 25, 00:0041.4N 168.7E995 mbExtratropical
Jul 25, 06:0041.8N 170.0E998 mbExtratropical
Jul 25, 12:0042.5N 171.5E998 mbExtratropical
Jul 25, 18:0043.0N 173.0E998 mbExtratropical
Jul 26, 00:0044.0N 174.5E998 mbExtratropical
Jul 26, 06:0044.6N 176.0E996 mbExtratropical
Jul 26, 12:0045.0N 178.0E995 mbExtratropical
Jul 26, 18:0046.0N 179.5E994 mbExtratropical
Jul 27, 00:0047.0N 179.0E992 mbExtratropical
Jul 27, 06:0048.0N 179.0E992 mbExtratropical
Jul 27, 12:0048.0N 183.0EExtratropical

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.