Super Typhoon Tess (1961)
Super Typhoon Tess reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between March 22, 1961 and April 2, 1961, with a lowest pressure of 940 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Super Typhoon Tess. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.























Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- Western Pacific
- Dates
- March 22, 1961 to April 2, 1961
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 130 kt (150 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 940 mb (27.76 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 1041 km (647 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 27.1
- Identifier
- WP031961
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 22, 06:00 | 7.8N 148.0E | 1004 mb | Mixed | |
| Mar 22, 12:00 | 7.6N 147.1E | 1006 mb | Mixed | |
| Mar 22, 18:00 | 7.5N 146.2E | 1006 mb | Mixed | |
| Mar 23, 00:00 | 7.8N 145.5E | 1006 mb | Mixed | |
| Mar 23, 06:00 | 8.2N 145.4E | 1004 mb | Mixed | |
| Mar 23, 12:00 | 8.6N 145.3E | 1006 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 23, 18:00 | 9.0N 144.9E | 1004 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 24, 00:00 | 8.6N 144.3E | 35 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 24, 06:00 | 8.9N 143.6E | 40 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 24, 12:00 | 9.1N 142.6E | 45 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 24, 18:00 | 9.1N 141.3E | 55 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 25, 00:00 | 9.0N 140.1E | 65 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 25, 06:00 | 9.0N 139.1E | 70 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 25, 12:00 | 9.0N 138.1E | 75 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 25, 18:00 | 9.2N 137.2E | 75 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 26, 00:00 | 9.7N 136.5E | 80 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 26, 06:00 | 10.4N 135.9E | 80 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 26, 12:00 | 11.0N 135.7E | 90 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 26, 18:00 | 11.5N 135.5E | 100 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 27, 00:00 | 12.0N 135.4E | 110 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 27, 06:00 | 12.5N 135.4E | 120 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 27, 12:00 | 12.9N 135.3E | 120 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 27, 18:00 | 13.3N 135.4E | 120 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 28, 00:00 | 13.7N 135.5E | 125 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 28, 06:00 | 14.1N 135.5E | 130 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 28, 12:00 | 14.5N 135.4E | 130 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 28, 18:00 | 14.8N 135.2E | 130 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 29, 00:00 | 15.2N 135.0E | 130 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 29, 06:00 | 15.7N 134.7E | 130 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 29, 12:00 | 16.3N 134.5E | 125 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 29, 18:00 | 17.0N 134.5E | 120 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 30, 00:00 | 17.7N 134.6E | 115 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 30, 06:00 | 18.5N 134.4E | 90 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 30, 12:00 | 19.5N 134.1E | 55 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 30, 18:00 | 20.8N 134.6E | 40 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 31, 00:00 | 22.1N 136.4E | 30 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 31, 06:00 | 23.0N 138.8E | 30 kt | 1010 mb | Mixed |
| Mar 31, 12:00 | 23.4N 139.8E | 1014 mb | Extratropical | |
| Mar 31, 18:00 | 23.8N 141.3E | 1012 mb | Extratropical | |
| Apr 1, 00:00 | 24.0N 143.0E | 1014 mb | Extratropical | |
| Apr 1, 06:00 | 24.5N 144.7E | 1012 mb | Extratropical | |
| Apr 1, 12:00 | 25.7N 146.9E | 1012 mb | Extratropical | |
| Apr 1, 18:00 | 27.0N 149.2E | 1012 mb | Extratropical | |
| Apr 2, 00:00 | 29.0N 153.0E | 1014 mb | Extratropical | |
| Apr 2, 06:00 | 31.2N 157.5E | 1010 mb | Extratropical | |
| Apr 2, 12:00 | 31.7N 160.3E | 1010 mb | Extratropical |
Other Western Pacific storms of 1961
- Tropical Storm RitaWestern Pacific · 1961
- Tropical Storm SusanWestern Pacific · 1961
- Tropical Storm ViolaWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon AliceWestern Pacific · 1961 · 4 deaths
- Super Typhoon BettyWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon CoraWestern Pacific · 1961
- Tropical Storm DorisWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Tropical Depression DorisWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon ElsieWestern Pacific · 1961
- Tropical Storm FlossieWestern Pacific · 1961
- Tropical Storm GraceWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon HelenWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon IdaWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon JuneWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon KathyWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon LornaWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Tropical Storm MarieWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon OlgaWestern Pacific · 1961
- Super Typhoon PamelaWestern Pacific · 1961
- Super Typhoon NancyWestern Pacific · 1961
- Tropical Depression RubyWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon SallyWestern Pacific · 1961
- Super Typhoon TildaWestern Pacific · 1961
- Super Typhoon VioletWestern Pacific · 1961
- Tropical Depression WildaWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Tropical Depression AnitaWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon BillieWestern Pacific · 1961
- Typhoon ClaraWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Super Typhoon DotWestern Pacific · 1961
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1961
- Super Typhoon EllenWestern Pacific · 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.