Super Typhoon Thelma (1987)
Super Typhoon Thelma reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between July 6, 1987 and July 18, 1987, with a lowest pressure of 915 mb, and made landfall.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Super Typhoon Thelma. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.























Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- Western Pacific
- Dates
- July 6, 1987 to July 18, 1987
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 130 kt (150 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 915 mb (27.02 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 24.8
- Fastest the center moved
- 31 kt (36 mph)
- Identifier
- WP051987
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) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 12:00 | 9.6N 150.9E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jul 6, 18:00 | 10.2N 150.3E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Jul 7, 00:00 | 10.8N 150.0E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 7, 06:00 | 11.5N 149.8E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Mixed |
| Jul 7, 12:00 | 12.1N 149.6E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Mixed |
| Jul 7, 18:00 | 13.0N 149.5E | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 8, 00:00 | 13.9N 148.9E | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 8, 06:00 | 14.5N 147.4E | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 8, 12:00 | 14.6N 145.5E | 35 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 8, 18:00 | 15.0N 143.8E | 40 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 9, 00:00 | 15.6N 142.3E | 45 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 9, 06:00 | 16.2N 141.0E | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 9, 12:00 | 16.5N 139.7E | 60 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 9, 18:00 | 16.7N 138.3E | 70 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 10, 00:00 | 17.0N 136.9E | 80 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 10, 06:00 | 17.3N 135.4E | 85 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 10, 12:00 | 17.7N 134.0E | 90 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 10, 18:00 | 17.8N 132.5E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 11, 00:00 | 17.9N 131.2E | 110 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 11, 06:00 | 17.9N 129.9E | 120 kt | 915 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 11, 12:00 | 17.8N 128.8E | 130 kt | 915 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 11, 18:00 | 17.6N 128.0E | 125 kt | 920 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 12, 00:00 | 17.6N 127.3E | 120 kt | 920 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 12, 06:00 | 17.9N 126.8E | 120 kt | 925 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 12, 12:00 | 18.5N 126.6E | 115 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 12, 18:00 | 19.2N 126.4E | 105 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 13, 00:00 | 19.9N 126.2E | 95 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 13, 06:00 | 20.9N 126.0E | 90 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 13, 12:00 | 22.1N 125.6E | 90 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 13, 18:00 | 23.4N 125.3E | 90 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 14, 00:00 | 24.7N 125.2E | 90 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 14, 06:00 | 25.9N 124.9E | 90 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 14, 12:00 | 27.4N 124.8E | 90 kt | 940 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 14, 18:00 | 28.6N 125.0E | 85 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 15, 00:00 | 29.9N 125.5E | 80 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 15, 06:00 | 31.9N 126.3E | 80 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 15, 12:00 | 34.4N 127.2E | 70 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 15, 18:00 | 36.8N 128.2E | 55 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 16, 00:00 | 39.0N 129.4E | 40 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 16, 06:00 | 40.9N 130.6E | 35 kt | 980 mb | Mixed |
| Jul 16, 12:00 | 42.7N 131.7E | 30 kt | 988 mb | Mixed |
| Jul 16, 18:00 | 44.7N 132.0E | 990 mb | Extratropical | |
| Jul 17, 00:00 | 45.9N 132.5E | 992 mb | Extratropical | |
| Jul 17, 06:00 | 46.7N 133.0E | 992 mb | Extratropical | |
| Jul 17, 12:00 | 47.8N 133.7E | 994 mb | Extratropical | |
| Jul 17, 18:00 | 48.8N 134.1E | 996 mb | Extratropical | |
| Jul 18, 00:00 | 49.7N 135.0E | 998 mb | Extratropical |
Other Western Pacific storms of 1987
- Typhoon OrchidWestern Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm PercyWestern Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm RuthWestern Pacific · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1987
- Typhoon SperryWestern Pacific · 1987
- Typhoon VernonWestern Pacific · 1987
- Typhoon AlexWestern Pacific · 1987 · 126 deaths
- Super Typhoon BettyWestern Pacific · 1987
- Typhoon CaryWestern Pacific · 1987
- Unnamed tropical stormWestern Pacific · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1987
- Super Typhoon DinahWestern Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm EdWestern Pacific · 1987
- Super Typhoon HollyWestern Pacific · 1987
- Typhoon GeraldWestern Pacific · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1987
- Typhoon FredaWestern Pacific · 1987
- Typhoon IanWestern Pacific · 1987
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm JuneWestern Pacific · 1987
- Typhoon KellyWestern Pacific · 1987
- Super Typhoon LynnWestern Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm MauryWestern Pacific · 1987
- Super Typhoon NinaWestern Pacific · 1987
- Tropical Storm OgdenWestern Pacific · 1987
- Typhoon PhyllisWestern Pacific · 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.