Typhoon Opal (1973)

Basin

Western Pacific

Dates

October 3, 1973 to October 12, 1973

Peak strength

Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)

Lowest pressure

970 mb (28.64 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

6.2

Identifier

WP181973

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.

• Tropical Storm WildaWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Storm60 kt · 980 mb
• Typhoon AnitaWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 170 kt · 980 mb
• Super Typhoon BillieWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 4130 kt · 915 mb
• Typhoon DotWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 285 kt · 975 mb
• Tropical Storm ClaraWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Storm55 kt · 980 mb
• Typhoon EllenWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 3105 kt · 940 mb
• Tropical Storm FranWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Storm40 kt · 1000 mb
• Typhoon GeorgiaWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 170 kt · 980 mb
• Typhoon IrisWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 285 kt · 970 mb
• Tropical Storm HopeWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Storm45 kt · 998 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Depression30 kt
• Tropical Storm JoanWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Storm45 kt · 992 mb
• Tropical Depression JoanWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm KateWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Storm60 kt · 975 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Depression30 kt
• Typhoon LouiseWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 175 kt · 975 mb
• Typhoon MargeWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 180 kt · 965 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Depression
• Super Typhoon NoraWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 5160 kt · 875 mb
• Super Typhoon PatsyWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 5140 kt · 895 mb
• Typhoon RuthWestern Pacific · 1973Cat 290 kt · 960 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm SarahWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Storm55 kt · 985 mb
• Tropical Storm ThelmaWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Storm55 kt · 992 mb
• Tropical Storm VeraWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Storm50 kt · 990 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1973Tropical Depression

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.

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.