The 1988 season

Typhoon Thad (1988)

Typhoon Thad reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between June 17, 1988 and June 25, 1988, with a lowest pressure of 970 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Thad, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1988 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
June 17, 1988 to June 25, 1988
Peak strength
Category 1, 70 kt (81 mph)
Lowest pressure
970 mb (28.64 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 213 km (132 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
5.9
Identifier
WP041988

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
Jun 17, 18:005.0N 141.0E1008 mbTropical storm
Jun 18, 00:005.0N 140.0E1008 mbTropical storm
Jun 18, 06:005.0N 139.0E20 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Jun 18, 12:005.3N 138.2E20 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Jun 18, 18:005.8N 137.5E25 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Jun 19, 00:006.2N 136.8E25 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Jun 19, 06:006.7N 135.9E30 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Jun 19, 12:007.1N 135.0E30 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jun 19, 18:007.7N 134.0E30 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Jun 20, 00:008.3N 133.1E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jun 20, 06:009.3N 132.2E35 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jun 20, 12:0010.7N 131.8E40 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jun 20, 18:0012.0N 131.2E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jun 21, 00:0013.0N 129.9E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jun 21, 06:0013.9N 128.6E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 21, 12:0014.6N 127.5E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 21, 18:0015.2N 126.6E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jun 22, 00:0015.7N 125.8E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jun 22, 06:0016.2N 125.3E65 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jun 22, 12:0016.7N 124.8E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jun 22, 18:0017.6N 124.5E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jun 23, 00:0018.7N 124.7E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jun 23, 06:0020.0N 125.2E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jun 23, 12:0021.3N 125.7E65 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jun 23, 18:0022.7N 126.6E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jun 24, 00:0024.1N 127.7E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jun 24, 06:0025.3N 129.0E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 24, 12:0026.5N 130.4E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jun 24, 18:0027.7N 131.9E35 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jun 25, 00:0028.8N 133.8E998 mbTropical storm
Jun 25, 06:0030.0N 136.4E1000 mbTropical storm
Jun 25, 12:0031.0N 138.0E1002 mbTropical storm

Other Western Pacific storms of 1988

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.