The 1963 season

Super Typhoon Susan (1963)

Super Typhoon Susan reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between December 18, 1963 and December 29, 1963, with a lowest pressure of 935 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Super Typhoon Susan, 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.

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The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
December 18, 1963 to December 29, 1963
Peak strength
Category 4, 135 kt (155 mph)
Lowest pressure
935 mb (27.61 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 1462 km (908 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
38.9
Identifier
WP251963

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
Dec 18, 00:002.3N 173.8E1004 mbMixed
Dec 18, 06:002.5N 172.9E1004 mbMixed
Dec 18, 12:004.3N 172.0E25 kt1006 mbMixed
Dec 18, 18:004.6N 171.5E30 kt1004 mbMixed
Dec 19, 00:004.8N 170.9E35 kt1004 mbMixed
Dec 19, 06:005.2N 170.3E40 kt1002 mbMixed
Dec 19, 12:005.7N 169.8E45 kt1002 mbMixed
Dec 19, 18:006.3N 169.5E45 kt1000 mbMixed
Dec 20, 00:007.0N 169.0E45 kt998 mbTropical storm
Dec 20, 06:007.8N 168.5E50 kt996 mbTropical storm
Dec 20, 12:008.0N 167.3E55 kt996 mbTropical storm
Dec 20, 18:008.1N 166.1E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Dec 21, 00:008.4N 164.8E65 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 21, 06:008.7N 163.9E65 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 21, 12:008.9N 162.9E70 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 21, 18:009.1N 161.8E70 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 22, 00:009.2N 160.5E75 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 22, 06:009.5N 159.1E75 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 22, 12:009.9N 157.7E80 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 22, 18:0010.4N 156.4E80 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 23, 00:0011.0N 155.3E85 kt980 mbTropical storm
Dec 23, 06:0011.6N 154.2E85 kt980 mbTropical storm
Dec 23, 12:0012.4N 153.1E90 kt980 mbTropical storm
Dec 23, 18:0012.8N 151.4E95 kt980 mbTropical storm
Dec 24, 00:0013.1N 149.8E100 kt980 mbTropical storm
Dec 24, 06:0013.8N 148.4E105 kt970 mbTropical storm
Dec 24, 12:0014.1N 147.1E110 kt970 mbTropical storm
Dec 24, 18:0014.3N 146.0E115 kt970 mbTropical storm
Dec 25, 00:0014.6N 144.8E125 kt970 mbTropical storm
Dec 25, 06:0014.9N 143.5E130 kt945 mbTropical storm
Dec 25, 12:0015.4N 142.2E130 kt945 mbTropical storm
Dec 25, 18:0015.8N 140.9E130 kt940 mbTropical storm
Dec 26, 00:0016.2N 140.1E135 kt940 mbTropical storm
Dec 26, 06:0016.5N 139.3E135 kt935 mbTropical storm
Dec 26, 12:0016.9N 138.7E135 kt935 mbTropical storm
Dec 26, 18:0017.5N 138.6E135 kt935 mbTropical storm
Dec 27, 00:0018.2N 138.9E135 kt935 mbTropical storm
Dec 27, 06:0018.9N 139.3E135 kt935 mbTropical storm
Dec 27, 12:0020.0N 140.4E130 kt935 mbTropical storm
Dec 27, 18:0020.8N 142.1E125 kt935 mbTropical storm
Dec 28, 00:0022.2N 144.4E115 kt945 mbTropical storm
Dec 28, 06:0023.4N 147.2E105 kt950 mbTropical storm
Dec 28, 12:0024.0N 150.6E90 kt970 mbTropical storm
Dec 28, 18:0024.6N 154.4E75 kt990 mbTropical storm
Dec 29, 00:0025.2N 155.3E50 kt1002 mbMixed
Dec 29, 06:0026.0N 158.0E40 kt1006 mbMixed
Dec 29, 12:0027.3N 162.0E25 ktTropical storm

Other Western Pacific storms of 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.