Super Typhoon Nelson (1988)

Basin

Western Pacific

Dates

September 30, 1988 to October 12, 1988

Peak strength

Category 5, 140 kt (161 mph)

Lowest pressure

915 mb (27.02 inHg)

Landfall

No; closest approach 275 km (171 mi)

Accumulated cyclone energy

32.8

Identifier

WP201988

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.

• Typhoon RoyWestern Pacific · 1988 · 2 deathsCat 4115 kt · 940 mb
• Typhoon SusanWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 180 kt · 970 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Depression30 kt · 1000 mb
• Typhoon ThadWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 170 kt · 970 mb
• Tropical Storm VanessaWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm45 kt · 990 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Depression
• Typhoon WarrenWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 4115 kt · 940 mb
• Tropical Storm AgnesWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm45 kt · 975 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm35 kt · 998 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm BillWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm45 kt · 985 mb
• Tropical Storm ClaraWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm45 kt · 994 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Depression
• Typhoon DoyleWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 4115 kt · 930 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm35 kt · 1000 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm35 kt · 1000 mb
• Typhoon FabianWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 175 kt · 970 mb
• Tropical Storm ElsieWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm45 kt · 992 mb
• Tropical Storm GayWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm45 kt · 996 mb
• Typhoon HalWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 3105 kt · 945 mb
• Tropical Storm IrmaWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm55 kt · 990 mb
• Tropical Storm JeffWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm45 kt · 994 mb
• Tropical Storm LeeWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm55 kt · 990 mb
• Tropical Storm KitWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm60 kt · 980 mb
• Tropical Storm MamieWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm45 kt · 990 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical stormWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm45 kt · 992 mb
• Typhoon OdessaWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 290 kt · 965 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Depression
• Typhoon PatWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 175 kt · 980 mb
• Typhoon RubyWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 4125 kt · 950 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Depression25 kt
• Typhoon TessWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 165 kt · 975 mb
• Typhoon SkipWestern Pacific · 1988Cat 4125 kt · 950 mb
• Tropical Storm ValWestern Pacific · 1988Tropical Storm55 kt · 992 mb

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.

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.