The 1966 season

Typhoon Rita (1966)

Typhoon Rita reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between August 1, 1966 and August 12, 1966, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Rita, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1966 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 1, 1966 to August 12, 1966
Peak strength
Category 1, 80 kt (92 mph)
Lowest pressure
980 mb (28.94 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 619 km (385 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
7.2
Identifier
WP101966

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 1, 18:0014.5N 144.5E1006 mbTropical storm
Aug 2, 00:0015.0N 145.5E1007 mbMixed
Aug 2, 06:0015.4N 145.5E1006 mbMixed
Aug 2, 12:0015.7N 145.8E25 kt1005 mbMixed
Aug 2, 18:0016.5N 145.3E25 kt1002 mbMixed
Aug 3, 00:0017.4N 144.7E30 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Aug 3, 06:0018.3N 144.2E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 3, 12:0019.3N 143.9E35 kt998 mbTropical storm
Aug 3, 18:0020.3N 143.6E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Aug 4, 00:0021.0N 143.5E50 kt992 mbTropical storm
Aug 4, 06:0021.7N 143.5E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 4, 12:0022.4N 143.4E60 kt988 mbTropical storm
Aug 4, 18:0023.0N 143.5E70 kt986 mbTropical storm
Aug 5, 00:0023.9N 143.4E80 kt984 mbTropical storm
Aug 5, 06:0024.9N 143.6E80 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 5, 12:0025.9N 143.9E75 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 5, 18:0027.1N 144.4E75 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 6, 00:0028.1N 144.9E60 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 6, 06:0029.2N 145.3E50 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 6, 12:0030.2N 145.6E40 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 6, 18:0030.8N 145.7E45 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 7, 00:0031.3N 145.8E50 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 7, 06:0031.8N 146.0E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 7, 12:0032.3N 146.3E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 7, 18:0032.8N 146.7E50 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 8, 00:0033.4N 147.2E50 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 8, 06:0033.9N 147.7E50 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 8, 12:0034.4N 148.4E40 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 8, 18:0034.8N 149.0E35 kt986 mbTropical storm
Aug 9, 00:0035.3N 149.6E35 kt988 mbTropical storm
Aug 9, 06:0035.7N 150.3E35 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 9, 12:0036.6N 152.0E990 mbTropical storm
Aug 9, 18:0037.3N 153.8E990 mbTropical storm
Aug 10, 00:0037.8N 155.5E990 mbTropical storm
Aug 10, 06:0038.1N 157.0E990 mbTropical storm
Aug 10, 12:0038.5N 158.5E990 mbTropical storm
Aug 10, 18:0038.6N 160.0E992 mbMixed
Aug 11, 00:0039.0N 163.0E998 mbMixed
Aug 11, 06:0039.2N 166.0E1000 mbMixed
Aug 11, 12:0040.0N 170.0E1000 mbMixed
Aug 11, 18:0040.9N 174.0E1000 mbMixed
Aug 12, 00:0042.8N 178.9E1002 mbMixed
Aug 12, 06:0044.5N 183.0ETropical storm

Other Western Pacific storms of 1966

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.