The 1955 season

Typhoon Joan (1955)

Typhoon Joan reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between August 29, 1955 and September 8, 1955, with a lowest pressure of 968 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Joan, 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
August 29, 1955 to September 8, 1955
Peak strength
Category 1, 80 kt (92 mph)
Lowest pressure
968 mb (28.59 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 254 km (158 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
7.7
Identifier
WP131955

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
Aug 29, 06:0017.0N 144.0E1006 mbMixed
Aug 29, 12:0017.9N 144.3E1006 mbMixed
Aug 29, 18:0018.6N 144.6E1006 mbMixed
Aug 30, 00:0019.1N 144.9E1006 mbMixed
Aug 30, 06:0019.8N 145.2E1004 mbTropical storm
Aug 30, 12:0020.4N 145.7E1004 mbTropical storm
Aug 30, 18:0021.0N 146.0E1002 mbTropical storm
Aug 31, 00:0021.6N 146.5E1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 31, 06:0021.3N 146.2E45 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 31, 12:0022.5N 146.7E45 kt998 mbTropical storm
Aug 31, 18:0023.5N 147.0E50 kt995 mbTropical storm
Sep 1, 00:0024.7N 146.9E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 1, 06:0025.6N 146.2E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 1, 12:0026.6N 145.8E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 1, 18:0027.6N 145.5E70 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 2, 00:0028.8N 145.5E70 kt988 mbTropical storm
Sep 2, 06:0029.9N 145.3E70 kt986 mbTropical storm
Sep 2, 12:0031.6N 145.2E70 kt985 mbTropical storm
Sep 2, 18:0033.7N 145.6E75 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 3, 00:0036.4N 147.2E80 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 3, 06:0039.3N 149.9E80 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 3, 12:0043.3N 153.1E75 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 3, 18:0044.0N 154.5E70 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 4, 00:0046.0N 156.0E60 kt982 mbTropical storm
Sep 4, 06:0046.5N 157.5E50 kt984 mbMixed
Sep 4, 12:0048.0N 162.0E50 kt986 mbMixed
Sep 4, 18:0049.5N 166.0E45 kt986 mbMixed
Sep 5, 00:0051.0N 169.5E40 kt982 mbMixed
Sep 5, 06:0050.3N 170.4E976 mbExtratropical
Sep 5, 12:0050.8N 171.8E974 mbExtratropical
Sep 5, 18:0051.3N 173.2E970 mbExtratropical
Sep 6, 00:0052.0N 175.0E968 mbExtratropical
Sep 6, 06:0053.0N 176.6E968 mbExtratropical
Sep 6, 12:0053.8N 178.0E968 mbExtratropical
Sep 6, 18:0054.6N 179.5E968 mbExtratropical
Sep 7, 00:0055.5N 180.9EExtratropical
Sep 7, 06:0056.7N 182.0EExtratropical
Sep 7, 12:0057.5N 182.4EExtratropical
Sep 7, 18:0058.2N 182.5EExtratropical
Sep 8, 00:0058.8N 182.0EExtratropical
Sep 8, 06:0059.5N 181.3EExtratropical
Sep 8, 12:0060.0N 180.1EExtratropical
Sep 8, 18:0060.0N 178.2E998 mbExtratropical

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.