Tropical Storm Rita (1963)
Tropical Storm Rita peaked at 40 kt in the Western Pacific between December 15, 1963 and December 22, 1963, with a lowest pressure of 998 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Rita, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1963 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- Western Pacific
- Dates
- December 15, 1963 to December 22, 1963
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 40 kt (46 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 998 mb (29.47 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 124 km (77 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.4
- Identifier
- WP241963
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 15, 00:00 | 12.0N 130.7E | 1010 mb | Mixed | |
| Dec 15, 06:00 | 12.1N 129.5E | 1008 mb | Mixed | |
| Dec 15, 12:00 | 12.3N 128.5E | 1006 mb | Mixed | |
| Dec 15, 18:00 | 12.5N 127.5E | 1004 mb | Mixed | |
| Dec 16, 00:00 | 13.0N 126.6E | 1004 mb | Mixed | |
| Dec 16, 06:00 | 13.8N 126.2E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Mixed |
| Dec 16, 12:00 | 14.5N 125.5E | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 16, 18:00 | 15.1N 124.9E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 17, 00:00 | 15.8N 124.4E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 17, 06:00 | 16.5N 124.1E | 35 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 17, 12:00 | 17.5N 124.2E | 40 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 17, 18:00 | 18.1N 124.4E | 35 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 18, 00:00 | 18.6N 124.8E | 30 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 18, 06:00 | 19.1N 125.3E | 30 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 18, 12:00 | 19.5N 126.2E | 25 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 18, 18:00 | 19.2N 127.3E | 998 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 19, 00:00 | 19.3N 128.3E | 1000 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 19, 06:00 | 19.4N 129.3E | 1002 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 19, 12:00 | 19.6N 130.7E | 1006 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 19, 18:00 | 19.8N 132.7E | 1010 mb | Extratropical | |
| Dec 20, 00:00 | 20.5N 135.0E | 1010 mb | Extratropical | |
| Dec 20, 06:00 | 21.2N 137.9E | 1008 mb | Extratropical | |
| Dec 20, 12:00 | 22.2N 140.9E | 1013 mb | Extratropical | |
| Dec 20, 18:00 | 23.9N 142.9E | 1014 mb | Extratropical | |
| Dec 21, 00:00 | 25.3N 144.8E | 1010 mb | Extratropical | |
| Dec 21, 06:00 | 26.0N 146.7E | 1012 mb | Extratropical | |
| Dec 21, 12:00 | 26.5N 148.6E | 1012 mb | Extratropical | |
| Dec 21, 18:00 | 27.1N 151.0E | 1012 mb | Extratropical | |
| Dec 22, 00:00 | 29.1N 153.1E | 1010 mb | Extratropical |
Other Western Pacific storms of 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon OliveWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon PollyWestern Pacific · 1963
- Tropical Storm RoseWestern Pacific · 1963
- Super Typhoon ShirleyWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon TrixWestern Pacific · 1963
- Tropical Storm VirginiaWestern Pacific · 1963
- Super Typhoon WendyWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon AgnesWestern Pacific · 1963
- Tropical Depression WendyWestern Pacific · 1963
- Super Typhoon BessWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon CarmenWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon ElaineWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon DellaWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon FayeWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Super Typhoon GloriaWestern Pacific · 1963
- Tropical Storm HesterWestern Pacific · 1963
- Tropical Storm IrmaWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Super Typhoon JudyWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Super Typhoon KitWestern Pacific · 1963
- Super Typhoon LolaWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon MamieWestern Pacific · 1963
- Tropical Storm NinaWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon OraWestern Pacific · 1963
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1963
- Typhoon PhyllisWestern Pacific · 1963
- Super Typhoon SusanWestern Pacific · 1963
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.