The 1986 season

Typhoon Ken (1986)

Typhoon Ken reached Category 2 in the Western Pacific between April 22, 1986 and May 3, 1986, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Ken, 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
April 22, 1986 to May 3, 1986
Peak strength
Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)
Lowest pressure
980 mb (28.94 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 535 km (332 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
6.7
Identifier
WP021986

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
Apr 22, 00:001.9N 152.2ETropical storm
Apr 22, 06:002.1N 151.6ETropical storm
Apr 22, 12:002.4N 150.6ETropical storm
Apr 22, 18:002.8N 148.9ETropical storm
Apr 23, 00:003.2N 147.2ETropical storm
Apr 23, 06:003.6N 146.3ETropical storm
Apr 23, 12:003.9N 145.8ETropical storm
Apr 23, 18:004.0N 145.2ETropical storm
Apr 24, 00:004.2N 144.5ETropical storm
Apr 24, 06:004.7N 143.8E1004 mbTropical storm
Apr 24, 12:005.0N 143.2E1004 mbTropical storm
Apr 24, 18:005.4N 142.6E1004 mbTropical storm
Apr 25, 00:005.8N 142.0E1004 mbTropical storm
Apr 25, 06:005.9N 141.4E1002 mbTropical storm
Apr 25, 12:006.1N 141.0E1002 mbTropical storm
Apr 25, 18:006.4N 140.5E1002 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 00:006.6N 140.2E1002 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 06:006.8N 140.1E1002 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 12:007.0N 140.1E1000 mbMixed
Apr 26, 18:007.4N 139.7E45 kt996 mbMixed
Apr 27, 00:007.7N 139.6E50 kt992 mbTropical storm
Apr 27, 06:008.0N 139.4E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 27, 12:008.6N 139.3E70 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 27, 18:009.1N 139.3E75 kt980 mbTropical storm
Apr 28, 00:009.6N 139.3E80 kt980 mbTropical storm
Apr 28, 06:009.9N 139.3E90 kt980 mbTropical storm
Apr 28, 12:0010.1N 139.1E85 kt980 mbTropical storm
Apr 28, 18:0010.2N 138.9E80 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 29, 00:0010.3N 138.7E70 kt990 mbTropical storm
Apr 29, 06:0010.3N 138.4E60 kt992 mbTropical storm
Apr 29, 12:0010.3N 138.1E55 kt996 mbTropical storm
Apr 29, 18:0010.3N 137.8E50 kt996 mbTropical storm
Apr 30, 00:0010.3N 137.4E45 kt998 mbTropical storm
Apr 30, 06:0010.2N 137.1E40 kt998 mbTropical storm
Apr 30, 12:0010.1N 136.7E40 kt998 mbTropical storm
Apr 30, 18:009.8N 136.2E35 kt998 mbTropical storm
May 1, 00:009.6N 135.7E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
May 1, 06:009.6N 135.4E25 kt1002 mbTropical storm
May 1, 12:009.8N 135.2E25 kt1002 mbTropical storm
May 1, 18:009.9N 135.0E25 kt1004 mbMixed
May 2, 00:0010.1N 134.8E25 kt1004 mbMixed
May 2, 06:0010.4N 134.2E25 kt1004 mbMixed
May 2, 12:0010.7N 133.6E25 kt1004 mbMixed
May 2, 18:0011.0N 132.9E25 kt1004 mbMixed
May 3, 00:0011.3N 132.3E20 kt1006 mbTropical storm
May 3, 06:0011.5N 133.5E1006 mbTropical storm

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.