The 1985 season

Typhoon Nelson (1985)

Typhoon Nelson reached Category 2 in the Western Pacific between August 15, 1985 and August 25, 1985, with a lowest pressure of 950 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Nelson, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1985 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 15, 1985 to August 25, 1985
Peak strength
Category 2, 95 kt (109 mph)
Lowest pressure
950 mb (28.05 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
13.2
Fastest the center moved
27 kt (31 mph)
Identifier
WP111985

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 15, 00:0016.1N 148.9EDisturbance
Aug 15, 06:0016.2N 147.9EDisturbance
Aug 15, 12:0016.4N 147.1EDisturbance
Aug 15, 18:0016.6N 146.4EDisturbance
Aug 16, 00:0016.1N 144.3E1004 mbMixed
Aug 16, 06:0016.0N 142.8E1004 mbMixed
Aug 16, 12:0017.3N 143.6E15 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 18:0017.9N 143.2E15 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 00:0018.6N 142.6E20 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 06:0019.2N 142.1E20 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 12:0019.8N 141.5E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 18:0020.4N 140.9E30 kt994 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 00:0021.2N 140.0E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 06:0021.8N 139.4E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 12:0022.3N 138.7E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 18:0022.5N 137.7E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 00:0022.7N 136.5E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 06:0022.9N 135.8E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 12:0023.0N 134.8E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 18:0023.0N 133.8E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 00:0023.1N 133.1E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 06:0023.1N 132.3E75 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 12:0023.1N 131.6E75 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 18:0023.3N 131.0E80 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 00:0023.8N 130.0E80 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 06:0024.0N 129.0E90 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 12:0024.1N 128.0E90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 18:0024.3N 126.7E95 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 00:0024.5N 125.7E90 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 06:0024.6N 124.7E85 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 12:0024.7N 123.8E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 18:0025.2N 122.8E80 kt955 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 00:0025.5N 121.8E80 kt950 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 06:0025.6N 120.7E70 kt955 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 12:0025.6N 119.7E70 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 18:0025.5N 118.7E50 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 24, 00:0025.7N 117.6E35 kt992 mbTropical storm
Aug 24, 06:0026.1N 116.7E30 kt996 mbMixed
Aug 24, 12:0026.3N 116.1E996 mbMixed
Aug 24, 18:0026.4N 115.2E998 mbMixed
Aug 25, 00:0026.1N 115.0E998 mbMixed
Aug 25, 06:0026.2N 114.1E998 mbMixed
Aug 25, 12:0025.9N 113.1E998 mbMixed
Aug 25, 18:0026.0N 112.3E998 mbMixed

Other Western Pacific storms of 1985

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.