The 1974 season

Typhoon Virginia (1974)

Typhoon Virginia reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between September 10, 1974 and September 18, 1974, with a lowest pressure of 970 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Virginia, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1974 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
September 10, 1974 to September 18, 1974
Peak strength
Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)
Lowest pressure
970 mb (28.64 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 525 km (326 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
6.1
Identifier
WP231974

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
Sep 10, 12:0022.5N 152.9E1008 mbTropical storm
Sep 10, 18:0023.5N 151.6E1008 mbTropical storm
Sep 11, 00:0024.9N 150.8E20 kt1006 mbMixed
Sep 11, 06:0025.7N 150.2E20 kt1004 mbMixed
Sep 11, 12:0026.4N 149.8E25 kt1000 mbMixed
Sep 11, 18:0027.8N 149.0E25 kt1000 mbMixed
Sep 12, 00:0029.2N 149.5E30 kt1000 mbMixed
Sep 12, 06:0029.9N 150.2E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 12, 12:0030.5N 150.9E45 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 12, 18:0031.4N 151.6E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 13, 00:0032.2N 152.4E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 13, 06:0033.1N 153.2E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 13, 12:0033.9N 153.9E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 13, 18:0034.8N 154.6E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 14, 00:0035.6N 155.4E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Sep 14, 06:0036.4N 156.0E75 kt970 mbTropical storm
Sep 14, 12:0037.3N 156.3E75 kt970 mbTropical storm
Sep 14, 18:0038.3N 155.9E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 00:0039.3N 155.1E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 06:0039.7N 154.4E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 12:0040.2N 154.2E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 18:0040.7N 154.2E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 00:0041.4N 154.5E40 kt996 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 06:0042.4N 154.8E35 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 12:0043.0N 155.5E30 kt1006 mbMixed
Sep 16, 18:0043.3N 157.0E25 kt1008 mbMixed
Sep 17, 00:0043.6N 159.0E20 kt1010 mbMixed
Sep 17, 06:0046.1N 163.0E20 kt1010 mbMixed
Sep 17, 12:0048.6N 167.0E20 kt1010 mbMixed
Sep 17, 18:0051.6N 173.0E1008 mbExtratropical
Sep 18, 00:0054.0N 178.0E1000 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 1974

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.