The 1986 season

Super Typhoon Lola (1986)

Super Typhoon Lola reached Category 5 in the Western Pacific between May 14, 1986 and May 25, 1986, with a lowest pressure of 910 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Super Typhoon Lola, 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.

Open the live map with storms, cones and warnings

The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
May 14, 1986 to May 25, 1986
Peak strength
Category 5, 150 kt (173 mph)
Lowest pressure
910 mb (26.87 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 885 km (550 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
26.2
Identifier
WP031986

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
May 14, 00:008.3N 148.6ETropical storm
May 14, 06:007.7N 150.3ETropical storm
May 14, 12:007.0N 152.0ETropical storm
May 14, 18:006.4N 153.6ETropical storm
May 15, 00:006.0N 155.0ETropical storm
May 15, 06:005.9N 156.0ETropical storm
May 15, 12:006.2N 156.7ETropical storm
May 15, 18:006.7N 157.4ETropical storm
May 16, 00:007.2N 157.9E1002 mbTropical storm
May 16, 06:007.3N 158.4E1000 mbTropical storm
May 16, 12:007.4N 159.0E996 mbTropical storm
May 16, 18:007.5N 159.4E40 kt992 mbTropical storm
May 17, 00:007.8N 159.7E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
May 17, 06:008.0N 159.6E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
May 17, 12:008.0N 159.4E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
May 17, 18:008.1N 159.2E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
May 18, 00:008.2N 159.0E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
May 18, 06:008.6N 159.0E75 kt970 mbTropical storm
May 18, 12:009.3N 158.9E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
May 18, 18:009.8N 158.5E90 kt950 mbTropical storm
May 19, 00:0010.3N 158.0E115 kt935 mbTropical storm
May 19, 06:0011.0N 157.1E130 kt915 mbTropical storm
May 19, 12:0011.6N 156.3E140 kt910 mbTropical storm
May 19, 18:0012.3N 155.4E150 kt910 mbTropical storm
May 20, 00:0013.4N 154.2E140 kt910 mbTropical storm
May 20, 06:0014.4N 153.2E135 kt915 mbTropical storm
May 20, 12:0015.2N 152.3E130 kt915 mbTropical storm
May 20, 18:0016.3N 151.5E125 kt920 mbTropical storm
May 21, 00:0017.5N 150.9E120 kt920 mbTropical storm
May 21, 06:0018.9N 150.5E115 kt925 mbTropical storm
May 21, 12:0020.4N 150.3E110 kt930 mbTropical storm
May 21, 18:0022.1N 150.5E95 kt935 mbTropical storm
May 22, 00:0023.8N 151.0E80 kt945 mbTropical storm
May 22, 06:0025.8N 152.1E80 kt950 mbTropical storm
May 22, 12:0027.8N 153.9E75 kt960 mbTropical storm
May 22, 18:0030.2N 156.3E65 kt970 mbTropical storm
May 23, 00:0032.8N 159.9E55 kt975 mbTropical storm
May 23, 06:0035.3N 164.4E50 kt980 mbTropical storm
May 23, 12:0038.1N 166.5E55 kt985 mbMixed
May 23, 18:0040.2N 167.6E55 kt985 mbMixed
May 24, 00:0042.3N 167.8E990 mbExtratropical
May 24, 06:0043.7N 169.6E990 mbExtratropical
May 24, 12:0045.0N 171.8E990 mbExtratropical
May 24, 18:0047.5N 174.5E992 mbExtratropical
May 25, 00:0048.0N 177.0E992 mbExtratropical
May 25, 06:0049.0N 180.0E992 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.