The 1960 season

Typhoon Bess (1960)

Typhoon Bess reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between August 13, 1960 and August 28, 1960, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Bess, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1960 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 13, 1960 to August 28, 1960
Peak strength
Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
Lowest pressure
980 mb (28.94 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
12.4
Identifier
WP131960

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 13, 12:0020.7N 143.5EDisturbance
Aug 13, 18:0020.8N 143.0EDisturbance
Aug 14, 00:0020.9N 142.3EMixed
Aug 14, 06:0021.2N 141.7EMixed
Aug 14, 12:0021.7N 141.2EMixed
Aug 14, 18:0022.4N 140.9ETropical storm
Aug 15, 00:0022.9N 140.9ETropical storm
Aug 15, 06:0023.3N 140.9EMixed
Aug 15, 12:0023.5N 141.5E1003 mbMixed
Aug 15, 18:0023.6N 143.3E996 mbMixed
Aug 16, 00:0023.8N 144.5E990 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 06:0023.5N 146.5E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 12:0023.6N 146.4E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 18:0023.8N 146.2E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 00:0024.1N 146.0E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 06:0024.3N 145.8E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 12:0024.8N 145.3E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 18:0025.5N 144.3E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 00:0026.1N 143.2E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 06:0026.4N 142.5E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 12:0026.7N 141.9E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 18:0027.1N 141.3E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 00:0028.1N 140.6E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 06:0029.4N 139.9E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 12:0030.9N 139.4E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 18:0031.8N 139.2E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 00:0032.7N 139.2E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 06:0033.6N 139.7E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 12:0034.6N 140.5E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 18:0035.9N 141.9E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 00:0036.6N 143.4E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 06:0036.9N 144.6E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 12:0036.9N 146.3E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 18:0036.6N 148.5E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 00:0036.1N 150.5E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 06:0035.8N 152.3E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 12:0035.8N 153.8E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 18:0035.7N 155.0E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 00:0035.1N 155.4E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 06:0034.9N 154.5E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 12:0035.2N 153.6E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 18:0035.5N 152.7E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 24, 00:0035.9N 151.6E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 24, 06:0036.1N 150.6E50 kt986 mbTropical storm
Aug 24, 12:0036.4N 149.5E50 kt986 mbTropical storm
Aug 24, 18:0036.7N 148.4E40 kt986 mbTropical storm
Aug 25, 00:0037.1N 147.4E40 kt986 mbTropical storm
Aug 25, 06:0037.8N 146.3E35 kt986 mbTropical storm
Aug 25, 12:0039.0N 145.7E30 kt986 mbTropical storm
Aug 25, 18:0040.5N 145.5E986 mbTropical storm
Aug 26, 00:0042.0N 146.3E990 mbTropical storm
Aug 26, 06:0044.0N 147.5E1000 mbExtratropical
Aug 26, 12:0047.0N 150.0EExtratropical
Aug 26, 18:0048.5N 153.0EExtratropical
Aug 27, 00:0050.5N 156.5EExtratropical
Aug 27, 06:0051.8N 159.8EExtratropical
Aug 27, 12:0052.6N 162.5EExtratropical
Aug 27, 18:0053.9N 165.8EExtratropical
Aug 28, 00:0055.0N 168.0EExtratropical
Aug 28, 06:0055.7N 171.0EExtratropical
Aug 28, 12:0056.0N 174.0EExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 1960

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.