The 1962 season

Super Typhoon Ruth (1962)

Super Typhoon Ruth reached Category 5 in the Western Pacific between August 12, 1962 and August 25, 1962, with a lowest pressure of 915 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Super Typhoon Ruth, 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
August 12, 1962 to August 25, 1962
Peak strength
Category 5, 160 kt (184 mph)
Lowest pressure
915 mb (27.02 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 141 km (88 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
38.0
Identifier
WP121962

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 12, 00:0010.5N 151.2E1010 mbMixed
Aug 12, 06:0011.0N 150.7E1008 mbMixed
Aug 12, 12:0011.6N 150.0E1008 mbMixed
Aug 12, 18:0012.0N 149.4E1006 mbMixed
Aug 13, 00:0012.6N 148.8E1006 mbMixed
Aug 13, 06:0013.2N 148.1E1006 mbMixed
Aug 13, 12:0013.6N 147.5E1005 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 18:0014.2N 147.0E50 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 00:0014.5N 146.3E55 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 06:0015.2N 146.0E60 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 12:0016.0N 146.0E60 kt998 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 18:0016.8N 146.0E70 kt995 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 00:0017.5N 146.0E75 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 06:0018.4N 146.0E90 kt978 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 12:0019.6N 145.9E110 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 18:0020.6N 145.8E130 kt950 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 00:0021.4N 145.6E140 kt925 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 06:0022.3N 145.3E150 kt915 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 12:0023.3N 145.0E150 kt915 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 18:0024.4N 144.7E160 kt915 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 00:0025.8N 144.2E160 kt920 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 06:0027.1N 143.6E150 kt925 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 12:0028.4N 142.8E130 kt930 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 18:0029.6N 141.8E110 kt940 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 00:0030.4N 141.3E100 kt955 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 06:0030.9N 141.0E95 kt955 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 12:0031.3N 140.8E90 kt955 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 18:0031.8N 140.7E90 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 00:0032.2N 140.7E90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 06:0032.6N 140.8E90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 12:0032.8N 140.9E90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 18:0033.2N 141.0E90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 00:0033.6N 141.3E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 06:0034.2N 141.7E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 12:0035.0N 142.3E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 18:0035.8N 143.0E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 00:0036.5N 143.9E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 06:0037.2N 145.0E75 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 12:0037.8N 146.2E75 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 18:0038.6N 148.0E70 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 00:0039.4N 150.4E70 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 06:0040.1N 153.3E60 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 12:0040.7N 156.6E60 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 18:0041.3N 160.8E55 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 00:0042.5N 166.8E50 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 06:0042.7N 169.0E50 kt984 mbMixed
Aug 23, 12:0042.5N 172.4E50 kt990 mbMixed
Aug 23, 18:0042.8N 175.0E45 kt990 mbMixed
Aug 24, 00:0043.0N 178.0E40 kt992 mbMixed
Aug 24, 06:0044.0N 179.0E50 kt994 mbMixed
Aug 24, 12:0047.0N 179.0W35 kt994 mbMixed
Aug 24, 18:0048.5N 177.0W45 kt994 mbMixed
Aug 25, 00:0053.0N 178.0E45 kt986 mbMixed
Aug 25, 06:0055.0N 180.0E986 mbExtratropical
Aug 25, 12:0056.0N 180.0E986 mbExtratropical
Aug 25, 18:0057.8N 184.0EExtratropical

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.