The 1956 season

Typhoon Freda (1956)

Typhoon Freda reached Category 2 in the Western Pacific between September 13, 1956 and September 25, 1956, with a lowest pressure of 975 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Freda, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1956 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
September 13, 1956 to September 25, 1956
Peak strength
Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
Lowest pressure
975 mb (28.79 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
7.7
Identifier
WP131956

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
Sep 13, 00:0017.7N 131.3E30 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Sep 13, 06:0018.1N 131.0E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 13, 12:0018.4N 130.5E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 13, 18:0018.9N 130.2E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 14, 00:0019.6N 129.2E65 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 14, 06:0020.0N 128.0E65 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 14, 12:0020.6N 127.0E65 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 14, 18:0021.4N 126.1E65 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 00:0022.3N 125.3E75 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 06:0023.0N 124.6E80 kt985 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 12:0023.5N 123.8E85 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 18:0024.0N 123.2E80 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 00:0024.3N 122.7E80 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 06:0024.7N 121.6E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 12:0024.8N 121.0E65 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 18:0024.7N 120.3E65 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 17, 00:0024.6N 119.8E55 kt994 mbTropical storm
Sep 17, 06:0024.2N 119.2E50 kt994 mbTropical storm
Sep 17, 12:0023.9N 118.4E50 kt994 mbTropical storm
Sep 17, 18:0024.0N 117.9E45 kt994 mbTropical storm
Sep 18, 00:0024.4N 118.1E45 kt994 mbTropical storm
Sep 18, 06:0024.5N 117.5E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Sep 18, 12:0025.0N 116.5E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Sep 18, 18:0025.5N 115.8E30 kt996 mbTropical storm
Sep 19, 00:0026.0N 115.0E20 kt996 mbMixed
Sep 19, 06:0025.9N 116.9E998 mbMixed
Sep 19, 12:0026.8N 117.4E1000 mbMixed
Sep 19, 18:0028.1N 118.0E1004 mbMixed
Sep 20, 00:0029.5N 118.4E1006 mbMixed
Sep 20, 06:0030.5N 119.4E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 20, 12:0031.1N 120.8E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 20, 18:0031.6N 122.1E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 21, 00:0031.9N 123.5E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 21, 06:0033.0N 124.9E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 21, 12:0034.1N 127.0E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 21, 18:0034.6N 128.3E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 22, 00:0036.3N 132.6E1007 mbExtratropical
Sep 22, 06:0037.0N 137.0E1008 mbExtratropical
Sep 22, 12:0036.6N 141.7E1008 mbExtratropical
Sep 22, 18:0037.7N 148.0E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 23, 00:0038.5N 151.9E1002 mbExtratropical
Sep 23, 06:0041.0N 156.0E1002 mbExtratropical
Sep 23, 12:0042.0N 159.8E998 mbExtratropical
Sep 23, 18:0042.6N 161.2E990 mbExtratropical
Sep 24, 00:0043.5N 165.0E988 mbExtratropical
Sep 24, 06:0043.2N 168.0E980 mbExtratropical
Sep 24, 12:0044.0N 171.1E980 mbExtratropical
Sep 24, 18:0046.8N 174.7E975 mbExtratropical
Sep 25, 00:0049.0N 176.0E976 mbExtratropical
Sep 25, 06:0050.7N 178.0E982 mbExtratropical
Sep 25, 12:0051.0N 179.0E982 mbExtratropical
Sep 25, 18:0052.0N 182.0EExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 1956

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.