The 1961 season

Typhoon Billie (1961)

Typhoon Billie reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between October 18, 1961 and October 30, 1961, with a lowest pressure of 970 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Billie, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1961 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
October 18, 1961 to October 30, 1961
Peak strength
Category 1, 70 kt (81 mph)
Lowest pressure
970 mb (28.64 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
9.1
Fastest the center moved
43 kt (49 mph)
Identifier
WP401961

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
Oct 18, 06:008.4N 159.3E1006 mbMixed
Oct 18, 12:009.0N 158.5E1008 mbMixed
Oct 18, 18:009.4N 157.5E1004 mbMixed
Oct 19, 00:009.4N 156.3E1006 mbMixed
Oct 19, 06:009.0N 154.3E1002 mbMixed
Oct 19, 12:008.7N 152.5E1005 mbMixed
Oct 19, 18:008.6N 150.8E1000 mbMixed
Oct 20, 00:008.7N 149.3E1004 mbMixed
Oct 20, 06:008.8N 147.5E1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 20, 12:008.7N 146.8E1002 mbTropical storm
Oct 20, 18:008.5N 145.9E1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 00:008.5N 145.2E1002 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 06:008.6N 144.4E1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 12:008.5N 143.6E1002 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 18:008.4N 142.9E1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 00:008.3N 142.4E1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 06:008.1N 141.9E1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 12:007.8N 141.5E1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 18:008.9N 142.9E998 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 00:0010.2N 144.1E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 06:0010.7N 143.4E30 kt994 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 12:0011.2N 142.8E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 18:0011.8N 142.3E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 00:0012.6N 141.8E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 06:0013.5N 141.4E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 12:0014.5N 141.3E70 kt985 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 18:0015.6N 141.4E70 kt985 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 00:0016.6N 141.7E70 kt985 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 06:0017.6N 141.9E70 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 12:0018.4N 142.2E70 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 18:0019.3N 142.4E70 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 00:0020.4N 142.4E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 06:0021.3N 142.6E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 12:0022.5N 142.6E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 18:0023.6N 142.8E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 00:0024.8N 142.9E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 06:0026.3N 143.0E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 12:0027.9N 143.1E60 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 18:0029.7N 143.4E50 kt978 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 00:0031.8N 143.9E50 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 06:0033.9N 145.1E50 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 12:0036.0N 146.0E40 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 18:0038.0N 147.0E40 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 29, 00:0040.5N 148.2E45 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 29, 06:0043.2N 149.6E40 kt974 mbMixed
Oct 29, 12:0046.0N 151.0E40 kt972 mbMixed
Oct 29, 18:0048.5N 155.5E35 kt972 mbMixed
Oct 30, 00:0052.0N 160.0E50 kt972 mbMixed
Oct 30, 06:0056.0N 161.0E970 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 1961

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.