The 1987 season

Typhoon Phyllis (1987)

Typhoon Phyllis reached Category 3 in the Western Pacific between December 9, 1987 and December 20, 1987, with a lowest pressure of 960 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Phyllis, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1987 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
December 9, 1987 to December 20, 1987
Peak strength
Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
Lowest pressure
960 mb (28.35 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
8.0
Identifier
WP251987

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
Dec 9, 00:005.2N 153.5E20 ktTropical storm
Dec 9, 06:005.2N 152.4E20 ktTropical storm
Dec 9, 12:005.2N 151.4E20 ktTropical storm
Dec 9, 18:005.4N 150.4E20 ktTropical storm
Dec 10, 00:005.8N 149.5E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 10, 06:006.3N 148.5E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 10, 12:006.8N 147.3E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 10, 18:007.3N 146.1E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 11, 00:008.1N 144.6E30 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Dec 11, 06:008.9N 143.5E30 kt1006 mbMixed
Dec 11, 12:0010.0N 142.9E30 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Dec 11, 18:0010.9N 142.2E35 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Dec 12, 00:0011.6N 141.3E35 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Dec 12, 06:0012.2N 140.7E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Dec 12, 12:0012.5N 140.6E35 kt998 mbTropical storm
Dec 12, 18:0012.7N 140.5E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Dec 13, 00:0012.9N 140.4E30 kt994 mbTropical storm
Dec 13, 06:0013.2N 140.2E30 kt994 mbTropical storm
Dec 13, 12:0013.3N 139.4E30 kt994 mbTropical storm
Dec 13, 18:0013.1N 138.6E30 kt994 mbTropical storm
Dec 14, 00:0012.9N 137.5E30 kt992 mbTropical storm
Dec 14, 06:0012.6N 136.0E30 kt990 mbTropical storm
Dec 14, 12:0012.1N 134.2E35 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 14, 18:0011.7N 132.3E45 kt975 mbTropical storm
Dec 15, 00:0011.3N 130.6E55 kt965 mbTropical storm
Dec 15, 06:0011.4N 128.9E65 kt965 mbTropical storm
Dec 15, 12:0011.5N 127.3E75 kt960 mbTropical storm
Dec 15, 18:0011.7N 125.7E90 kt960 mbTropical storm
Dec 16, 00:0011.8N 124.8E100 kt970 mbTropical storm
Dec 16, 06:0012.2N 124.1E90 kt975 mbTropical storm
Dec 16, 12:0012.6N 123.4E85 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 16, 18:0012.8N 122.8E80 kt980 mbTropical storm
Dec 17, 00:0012.9N 122.2E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Dec 17, 06:0012.9N 121.6E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Dec 17, 12:0012.9N 121.0E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Dec 17, 18:0012.7N 120.3E40 kt980 mbTropical storm
Dec 18, 00:0012.2N 119.3E30 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 18, 06:0011.7N 118.1E30 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 18, 12:0012.2N 117.1E30 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 18, 18:0012.6N 116.3E35 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 19, 00:0012.9N 115.6E35 kt990 mbTropical storm
Dec 19, 06:0012.9N 114.8E30 kt992 mbTropical storm
Dec 19, 12:0012.7N 114.1E25 kt996 mbTropical storm
Dec 19, 18:0012.3N 113.3E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Dec 20, 00:0011.7N 112.7E20 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Dec 20, 06:0011.0N 112.0E20 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Dec 20, 12:0010.0N 111.5E1008 mbTropical storm

Other Western Pacific storms of 1987

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.