The 1986 season

Typhoon Carmen (1986)

Typhoon Carmen reached Category 3 in the Western Pacific between September 27, 1986 and October 11, 1986, with a lowest pressure of 940 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Carmen, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1986 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 27, 1986 to October 11, 1986
Peak strength
Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
Lowest pressure
940 mb (27.76 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 273 km (170 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
14.0
Identifier
WP171986

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 27, 00:004.6N 177.6EDisturbance
Sep 27, 06:004.8N 176.5EDisturbance
Sep 27, 12:004.9N 175.6EDisturbance
Sep 27, 18:004.9N 174.8EDisturbance
Sep 28, 00:004.9N 173.6EDisturbance
Sep 28, 06:005.2N 171.5EDisturbance
Sep 28, 12:005.7N 169.2EDisturbance
Sep 28, 18:006.3N 167.3EDisturbance
Sep 29, 00:006.9N 165.8EDisturbance
Sep 29, 06:007.3N 164.7EDisturbance
Sep 29, 12:007.6N 163.7EDisturbance
Sep 29, 18:008.1N 162.6EDisturbance
Sep 30, 00:008.6N 161.6EDisturbance
Sep 30, 06:009.0N 160.6EDisturbance
Sep 30, 12:009.5N 159.7EDisturbance
Sep 30, 18:0010.1N 158.7EDisturbance
Oct 1, 00:0010.6N 157.6ETropical storm
Oct 1, 06:0010.8N 156.6ETropical storm
Oct 1, 12:0010.5N 155.4E1004 mbTropical storm
Oct 1, 18:0010.6N 154.0E1004 mbTropical storm
Oct 2, 00:0010.9N 152.9E35 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Oct 2, 06:0011.4N 151.3E40 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Oct 2, 12:0012.0N 150.7E40 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Oct 2, 18:0012.7N 149.5E45 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 3, 00:0013.3N 148.2E45 kt998 mbTropical storm
Oct 3, 06:0013.8N 146.8E45 kt996 mbTropical storm
Oct 3, 12:0014.3N 145.5E50 kt996 mbTropical storm
Oct 3, 18:0014.8N 144.2E55 kt994 mbTropical storm
Oct 4, 00:0015.5N 143.2E60 kt992 mbTropical storm
Oct 4, 06:0016.1N 142.3E65 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 4, 12:0016.7N 141.7E65 kt985 mbTropical storm
Oct 4, 18:0017.3N 140.9E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 5, 00:0017.9N 140.2E85 kt965 mbTropical storm
Oct 5, 06:0018.6N 139.5E90 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 5, 12:0019.2N 138.8E95 kt945 mbTropical storm
Oct 5, 18:0019.7N 138.3E100 kt940 mbTropical storm
Oct 6, 00:0020.4N 138.0E95 kt945 mbTropical storm
Oct 6, 06:0021.3N 137.8E90 kt950 mbTropical storm
Oct 6, 12:0022.4N 137.8E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Oct 6, 18:0023.5N 138.0E85 kt965 mbTropical storm
Oct 7, 00:0024.5N 138.5E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Oct 7, 06:0026.5N 139.5E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Oct 7, 12:0028.7N 140.8E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Oct 7, 18:0031.0N 142.0E80 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 8, 00:0033.3N 143.2E80 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 8, 06:0035.4N 144.8E70 kt960 mbTropical storm
Oct 8, 12:0037.4N 146.8E60 kt960 mbMixed
Oct 8, 18:0039.3N 148.4E964 mbMixed
Oct 9, 00:0041.1N 151.1E964 mbExtratropical
Oct 9, 06:0043.1N 154.3E968 mbExtratropical
Oct 9, 12:0044.5N 158.0E972 mbExtratropical
Oct 9, 18:0045.7N 162.4E972 mbExtratropical
Oct 10, 00:0047.0N 167.2E972 mbExtratropical
Oct 10, 06:0048.0N 170.0E972 mbExtratropical
Oct 10, 12:0049.0N 172.0E972 mbExtratropical
Oct 10, 18:0049.5N 174.0E972 mbExtratropical
Oct 11, 00:0050.0N 176.0E972 mbExtratropical
Oct 11, 06:0050.0N 179.0E972 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 1986

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.