Typhoon Iris (1959)
Typhoon Iris reached Category 2 in the Western Pacific between August 18, 1959 and August 23, 1959, with a lowest pressure of 965 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Typhoon Iris, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1959 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
- August 18, 1959 to August 23, 1959
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 965 mb (28.50 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 8.6
- Identifier
- WP081959
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 18:00 | 16.0N 129.7E | Disturbance | ||
| Aug 19, 00:00 | 16.2N 128.4E | 45 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 06:00 | 16.2N 128.0E | 45 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 12:00 | 16.3N 127.3E | 50 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 18:00 | 16.3N 126.8E | 55 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 20, 00:00 | 16.4N 126.1E | 60 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 20, 06:00 | 16.6N 125.5E | 70 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 20, 12:00 | 16.8N 124.8E | 70 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 20, 18:00 | 17.2N 124.1E | 70 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 21, 00:00 | 17.4N 123.7E | 80 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 21, 06:00 | 17.9N 123.2E | 80 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 21, 12:00 | 18.5N 122.5E | 80 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 21, 18:00 | 19.4N 121.6E | 85 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 22, 00:00 | 20.3N 120.9E | 90 kt | 978 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 22, 06:00 | 21.4N 120.2E | 90 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 22, 12:00 | 22.6N 119.3E | 80 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 22, 18:00 | 23.9N 118.4E | 60 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 23, 00:00 | 25.0N 117.3E | 50 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 23, 06:00 | 27.0N 114.0E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Mixed |
| Aug 23, 12:00 | 28.5N 111.0E | 35 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 23, 18:00 | 30.5N 108.0E | 30 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
Other Western Pacific storms of 1959
- Tropical Storm RubyWestern Pacific · 1959
- Tropical Storm SallyWestern Pacific · 1959
- Typhoon TildaWestern Pacific · 1959
- Tropical Depression VioletWestern Pacific · 1959
- Tropical Depression WildaWestern Pacific · 1959
- Typhoon BillieWestern Pacific · 1959
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1959
- Typhoon EllenWestern Pacific · 1959
- Typhoon GeorgiaWestern Pacific · 1959
- Tropical Depression HopeWestern Pacific · 1959
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1959
- Super Typhoon JoanWestern Pacific · 1959
- Tropical Storm KateWestern Pacific · 1959
- Typhoon LouiseWestern Pacific · 1959
- Tropical Depression MargeWestern Pacific · 1959
- Tropical Storm Opal:RuthWestern Pacific · 1959
- Tropical Storm NoraWestern Pacific · 1959
- Super Typhoon SarahWestern Pacific · 1959
- Tropical Depression ThelmaWestern Pacific · 1959
- Super Typhoon VeraWestern Pacific · 1959
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1959
- Typhoon AmyWestern Pacific · 1959
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1959
- Tropical Storm BabsWestern Pacific · 1959
- Super Typhoon CharlotteWestern Pacific · 1959
- Super Typhoon DinahWestern Pacific · 1959
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1959
- Typhoon EmmaWestern Pacific · 1959
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1959
- Typhoon FredaWestern Pacific · 1959
- Super Typhoon GildaWestern Pacific · 1959 · 23 deaths
- Super Typhoon HarrietWestern Pacific · 1959
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.