The 1962 season

Typhoon Gilda (1962)

Typhoon Gilda reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between October 18, 1962 and November 1, 1962, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Gilda, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1962 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, 1962 to November 1, 1962
Peak strength
Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
Lowest pressure
955 mb (28.20 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 287 km (178 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
27.2
Identifier
WP231962

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, 18:0010.6N 138.9E1003 mbTropical storm
Oct 19, 00:0010.9N 137.6E1004 mbTropical storm
Oct 19, 06:0011.1N 135.8E25 kt1002 mbMixed
Oct 19, 12:0011.4N 135.1E25 kt1002 mbMixed
Oct 19, 18:0011.7N 134.5E25 kt1000 mbMixed
Oct 20, 00:0012.0N 133.9E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 20, 06:0012.2N 133.4E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 20, 12:0012.4N 132.8E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 20, 18:0012.7N 132.4E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 00:0013.1N 132.1E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 06:0013.5N 132.0E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 12:0014.0N 132.0E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 18:0014.3N 132.2E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 00:0014.6N 132.3E35 kt998 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 06:0014.8N 132.5E40 kt995 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 12:0015.1N 132.7E45 kt994 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 18:0015.4N 132.8E50 kt992 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 00:0015.6N 132.8E55 kt992 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 06:0015.8N 132.5E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 12:0015.6N 132.3E70 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 18:0015.3N 132.4E70 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 00:0015.6N 131.8E70 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 06:0015.8N 131.0E80 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 12:0015.8N 130.1E80 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 18:0015.6N 129.2E90 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 00:0015.5N 128.4E90 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 06:0015.5N 127.4E90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 12:0015.8N 126.5E100 kt960 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 18:0016.3N 126.0E100 kt960 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 00:0016.5N 125.6E100 kt960 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 06:0016.8N 125.3E110 kt960 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 12:0017.0N 125.2E110 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 18:0017.5N 125.2E110 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 00:0017.9N 125.6E115 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 06:0018.3N 126.0E115 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 12:0018.6N 126.6E110 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 18:0019.3N 127.5E110 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 00:0020.1N 128.4E110 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 06:0021.0N 129.3E105 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 12:0021.8N 130.4E100 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 18:0022.4N 131.7E100 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 29, 00:0023.0N 132.7E90 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 29, 06:0024.1N 133.8E90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Oct 29, 12:0025.2N 135.2E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Oct 29, 18:0026.2N 137.2E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Oct 30, 00:0027.6N 139.3E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 30, 06:0030.0N 142.2E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 30, 12:0032.3N 146.1E60 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 30, 18:0035.2N 150.2E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 31, 00:0037.4N 155.2E984 mbExtratropical
Oct 31, 06:0039.8N 159.1E992 mbExtratropical
Oct 31, 12:0042.0N 165.9E992 mbExtratropical
Oct 31, 18:0043.0N 172.0E992 mbExtratropical
Nov 1, 00:0044.0N 178.1E992 mbExtratropical
Nov 1, 06:0044.7N 184.5EExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 1962

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.