The 1983 season

Super Typhoon Forrest (1983)

Super Typhoon Forrest reached Category 5 in the Western Pacific between September 16, 1983 and September 30, 1983, with a lowest pressure of 885 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Super Typhoon Forrest, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1983 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 16, 1983 to September 30, 1983
Peak strength
Category 5, 150 kt (173 mph)
Lowest pressure
885 mb (26.13 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
34.6
Fastest the center moved
67 kt (77 mph)
Identifier
WP111983

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 16, 00:007.9N 161.0EDisturbance
Sep 16, 06:008.1N 161.4EDisturbance
Sep 16, 12:008.2N 161.8EDisturbance
Sep 16, 18:007.9N 161.9EDisturbance
Sep 17, 00:007.2N 161.8EDisturbance
Sep 17, 06:006.1N 161.3EDisturbance
Sep 17, 12:005.2N 160.4EDisturbance
Sep 17, 18:005.4N 159.2EDisturbance
Sep 18, 00:005.8N 157.8EDisturbance
Sep 18, 06:005.6N 156.4EDisturbance
Sep 18, 12:005.4N 155.1EDisturbance
Sep 18, 18:005.5N 153.8EDisturbance
Sep 19, 00:006.1N 152.2E1006 mbMixed
Sep 19, 06:007.1N 150.4E1004 mbMixed
Sep 19, 12:008.0N 148.7E1004 mbMixed
Sep 19, 18:009.0N 147.1E1004 mbMixed
Sep 20, 00:009.7N 145.8E1002 mbMixed
Sep 20, 06:0010.2N 144.8E1000 mbMixed
Sep 20, 12:0010.3N 144.1E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Sep 20, 18:0011.0N 143.2E40 kt996 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 00:0012.1N 141.9E50 kt994 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 06:0012.8N 140.9E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 12:0013.7N 139.9E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 18:0014.4N 138.9E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 00:0015.2N 137.9E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 06:0016.2N 136.9E95 kt950 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 12:0017.2N 136.0E120 kt925 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 18:0018.2N 134.7E140 kt890 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 00:0018.6N 133.5E150 kt885 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 06:0019.1N 132.4E145 kt885 mbXX
Sep 23, 12:0019.8N 131.8E140 kt900 mbXX
Sep 23, 18:0020.3N 131.1E130 kt900 mbXX
Sep 24, 00:0020.8N 130.2E130 kt910 mbXX
Sep 24, 06:0021.5N 129.6E125 kt915 mbXX
Sep 24, 12:0022.2N 128.5E120 kt920 mbXX
Sep 24, 18:0023.0N 128.0E120 kt920 mbXX
Sep 25, 00:0023.8N 127.3E120 kt920 mbXX
Sep 25, 06:0024.3N 126.9E125 kt920 mbXX
Sep 25, 12:0024.9N 126.3E120 kt920 mbXX
Sep 25, 18:0025.8N 125.8E120 kt920 mbXX
Sep 26, 00:0026.8N 125.0E115 kt925 mbXX
Sep 26, 06:0027.7N 124.3E115 kt925 mbXX
Sep 26, 12:0028.2N 124.0E110 kt925 mbXX
Sep 26, 18:0029.1N 123.9E105 kt930 mbXX
Sep 27, 00:0029.6N 124.0E95 kt935 mbXX
Sep 27, 06:0030.4N 124.6E85 kt940 mbTropical storm
Sep 27, 12:0030.9N 125.5E80 kt945 mbTropical storm
Sep 27, 18:0031.8N 127.2E70 kt960 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 00:0032.7N 129.2E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 06:0032.8N 132.8E50 kt985 mbMixed
Sep 28, 12:0034.0N 137.1E990 mbExtratropical
Sep 28, 18:0034.4N 141.7E992 mbExtratropical
Sep 29, 00:0035.0N 145.8E990 mbExtratropical
Sep 29, 06:0036.0N 154.0E988 mbExtratropical
Sep 29, 12:0037.0N 160.0E984 mbExtratropical
Sep 29, 18:0038.0N 165.0E984 mbExtratropical
Sep 30, 00:0040.0N 171.0E972 mbExtratropical
Sep 30, 06:0042.0N 174.0E972 mbExtratropical
Sep 30, 12:0044.0N 177.0E972 mbExtratropical
Sep 30, 18:0046.0N 180.0E970 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 1983

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.