Typhoon Bess (1979)

Basin

Western Pacific

Dates

March 18, 1979 to March 25, 1979

Peak strength

Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)

Lowest pressure

955 mb (28.20 inHg)

Landfall

No; closest approach 1053 km (654 mi)

Accumulated cyclone energy

7.2

Identifier

WP021979

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.

• Typhoon AliceWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 3110 kt · 930 mb
• Typhoon CecilWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 180 kt · 965 mb
• Tropical Storm DotWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Storm40 kt · 985 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression30 kt · 992 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression
• Typhoon EllisWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 285 kt · 955 mb
• Tropical Storm FayeWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Storm40 kt · 990 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression20 kt
• Super Typhoon HopeWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 4130 kt · 900 mb
• Tropical Storm GordonWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Storm60 kt · 975 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression25 kt
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression
• Typhoon IrvingWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 290 kt · 955 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression
• Super Typhoon JudyWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 4135 kt · 910 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression20 kt
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm KenWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Storm60 kt · 984 mb
• Typhoon LolaWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 290 kt · 950 mb
• Typhoon MacWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 170 kt · 985 mb
• Tropical Storm NancyWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Storm45 kt · 992 mb
• Typhoon OwenWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 3110 kt · 920 mb
• Tropical Storm PamelaWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Storm45 kt · 994 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression
• Typhoon SarahWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 3110 kt · 930 mb
• Tropical Storm RogerWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Storm45 kt · 985 mb
• Super Typhoon TipWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 5165 kt · 870 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression
• Super Typhoon VeraWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 5140 kt · 915 mb
• Tropical Storm WayneWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Storm50 kt · 990 mb
• Typhoon AbbyWestern Pacific · 1979Cat 3110 kt · 950 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Depression30 kt
• Tropical Storm BenWestern Pacific · 1979Tropical Storm60 kt · 994 mb

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.