The 1959 season

Typhoon Tilda (1959)

Typhoon Tilda reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between April 13, 1959 and April 24, 1959, with a lowest pressure of 930 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Tilda, 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.

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The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
April 13, 1959 to April 24, 1959
Peak strength
Category 4, 125 kt (144 mph)
Lowest pressure
930 mb (27.46 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 696 km (432 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
26.4
Identifier
WP031959

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
Apr 13, 18:004.6N 148.6E1004 mbTropical storm
Apr 14, 00:005.6N 148.3E35 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Apr 14, 06:006.1N 147.8E40 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 14, 12:006.5N 147.3E50 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 14, 18:007.1N 146.7E50 kt995 mbTropical storm
Apr 15, 00:007.3N 146.6E55 kt992 mbTropical storm
Apr 15, 06:007.6N 146.6E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Apr 15, 12:008.1N 146.1E65 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 15, 18:008.6N 145.8E70 kt980 mbTropical storm
Apr 16, 00:009.3N 145.3E70 kt965 mbTropical storm
Apr 16, 06:009.7N 144.6E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Apr 16, 12:009.9N 143.8E85 kt955 mbTropical storm
Apr 16, 18:0010.0N 143.2E85 kt950 mbTropical storm
Apr 17, 00:0010.3N 142.6E85 kt945 mbTropical storm
Apr 17, 06:0010.6N 142.1E85 kt940 mbTropical storm
Apr 17, 12:0011.3N 141.4E85 kt935 mbTropical storm
Apr 17, 18:0011.9N 140.7E85 kt930 mbTropical storm
Apr 18, 00:0012.2N 139.8E85 kt930 mbTropical storm
Apr 18, 06:0012.4N 139.1E100 kt930 mbTropical storm
Apr 18, 12:0012.8N 138.4E120 kt930 mbTropical storm
Apr 18, 18:0013.3N 137.9E120 kt930 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 00:0013.9N 137.5E120 kt930 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 06:0014.5N 137.2E125 kt930 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 12:0015.3N 136.8E120 kt930 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 18:0016.2N 136.6E110 kt935 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 00:0017.1N 136.7E110 kt940 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 06:0017.8N 137.1E105 kt945 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 12:0018.6N 137.4E105 kt950 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 18:0018.7N 137.3E100 kt960 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 00:0018.7N 137.3E90 kt975 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 06:0018.7N 137.3E75 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 12:0018.7N 137.3E75 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 18:0018.7N 137.3E75 kt990 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 00:0019.3N 137.1E75 kt995 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 06:0020.7N 137.0E60 kt995 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 12:0022.0N 137.6E40 kt995 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 18:0023.3N 138.3E40 kt995 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 00:0024.3N 139.3E35 kt995 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 06:0026.8N 141.4E1000 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 12:0029.0N 143.5E1004 mbTropical storm
Apr 23, 18:0031.0N 146.0ETropical storm
Apr 24, 00:0032.5N 147.5EExtratropical
Apr 24, 06:0034.0N 149.0EExtratropical
Apr 24, 12:0035.4N 150.1EExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 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.