Super Typhoon Ophelia (1958)
Super Typhoon Ophelia reached Category 5 in the Western Pacific between January 6, 1958 and January 18, 1958, with a lowest pressure of 940 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Super Typhoon Ophelia, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1958 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- Western Pacific
- Dates
- January 6, 1958 to January 18, 1958
- Peak strength
- Category 5, 140 kt (161 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 940 mb (27.76 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 821 km (510 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 44.7
- Identifier
- WP011958
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) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 6, 18:00 | 3.1N 170.9E | 1002 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 7, 00:00 | 5.9N 170.9E | 60 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 7, 06:00 | 6.0N 170.0E | 80 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 7, 12:00 | 6.1N 169.5E | 80 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 7, 18:00 | 6.3N 168.0E | 80 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 8, 00:00 | 6.4N 167.0E | 80 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 8, 06:00 | 6.6N 166.0E | 100 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 8, 12:00 | 6.8N 164.9E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 8, 18:00 | 7.0N 163.9E | 120 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 9, 00:00 | 7.2N 162.9E | 120 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 9, 06:00 | 7.5N 161.5E | 120 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 9, 12:00 | 7.4N 160.2E | 120 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 9, 18:00 | 7.3N 158.7E | 120 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 10, 00:00 | 7.3N 157.3E | 120 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 10, 06:00 | 7.7N 156.0E | 110 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 10, 12:00 | 7.9N 154.6E | 110 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 10, 18:00 | 7.9N 153.2E | 110 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 11, 00:00 | 7.9N 152.0E | 95 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 11, 06:00 | 7.8N 150.8E | 90 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 11, 12:00 | 7.9N 149.4E | 90 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 11, 18:00 | 8.0N 148.0E | 95 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 12, 00:00 | 8.0N 146.7E | 100 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 12, 06:00 | 8.1N 145.3E | 110 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 12, 12:00 | 8.3N 144.0E | 110 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 12, 18:00 | 8.6N 142.7E | 120 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 13, 00:00 | 9.0N 141.4E | 140 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 13, 06:00 | 9.3N 140.3E | 140 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 13, 12:00 | 9.6N 139.1E | 140 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 13, 18:00 | 10.0N 138.2E | 130 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 14, 00:00 | 10.3N 137.2E | 130 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 14, 06:00 | 10.8N 136.5E | 125 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 14, 12:00 | 11.1N 136.0E | 125 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 14, 18:00 | 11.5N 135.6E | 125 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 15, 00:00 | 11.9N 135.3E | 125 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 15, 06:00 | 12.2N 135.1E | 125 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 15, 12:00 | 12.4N 135.1E | 100 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 15, 18:00 | 12.6N 135.1E | 90 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 16, 00:00 | 12.8N 135.0E | 60 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jan 16, 06:00 | 12.9N 135.3E | 990 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 16, 12:00 | 12.5N 134.3E | 990 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 16, 18:00 | 13.3N 133.0E | 990 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 17, 00:00 | 14.3N 132.9E | 990 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 17, 06:00 | 15.1N 133.1E | 1000 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 17, 12:00 | 16.0N 133.6E | 1010 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Jan 17, 18:00 | 16.8N 134.2E | Disturbance | ||
| Jan 18, 00:00 | 17.5N 135.0E | Disturbance |
Other Western Pacific storms of 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Super Typhoon PhyllisWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon RitaWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon SusanWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon TessWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon ViolaWestern Pacific · 1958
- Super Typhoon WinnieWestern Pacific · 1958
- Tropical Storm BettyWestern Pacific · 1958
- Super Typhoon AliceWestern Pacific · 1958 · 26 deaths
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Super Typhoon DorisWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon ElsieWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon FlossieWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Super Typhoon GraceWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Super Typhoon HelenWestern Pacific · 1958
- Tropical Depression JuneWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon JuneWestern Pacific · 1958
- Tropical Depression JuneWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Super Typhoon IdaWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon KathyWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon LornaWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon MarieWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Super Typhoon NancyWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
- Tropical Storm PamelaWestern Pacific · 1958
- Typhoon OlgaWestern Pacific · 1958
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1958
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.