The 1991 season

Super Typhoon Walt (1991)

Super Typhoon Walt reached Category 5 in the Western Pacific between May 4, 1991 and May 18, 1991, with a lowest pressure of 915 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Super Typhoon Walt, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1991 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 4, 1991 to May 18, 1991
Peak strength
Category 5, 140 kt (161 mph)
Lowest pressure
915 mb (27.02 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 271 km (168 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
39.9
Identifier
WP041991

Radar at RODN as it neared land, May 16, 00:00 UTC

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 4, 00:004.6N 151.9E15 ktNot reported
May 4, 06:005.0N 152.1E15 ktNot reported
May 4, 12:005.5N 152.1E15 ktNot reported
May 4, 18:005.8N 152.0E20 ktNot reported
May 5, 00:006.0N 151.9E20 ktNot reported
May 5, 06:006.2N 151.8E20 ktNot reported
May 5, 12:006.4N 151.5E20 ktNot reported
May 5, 18:006.7N 151.3E25 ktNot reported
May 6, 00:007.1N 151.0E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
May 6, 06:007.3N 150.9E25 kt1002 mbTropical storm
May 6, 12:007.6N 150.7E30 kt1002 mbTropical storm
May 6, 18:007.9N 150.4E30 kt1002 mbTropical storm
May 7, 00:008.2N 150.1E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
May 7, 06:008.5N 149.7E35 kt998 mbTropical storm
May 7, 12:008.8N 149.3E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
May 7, 18:009.1N 148.8E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
May 8, 00:009.3N 148.3E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
May 8, 06:009.6N 147.7E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
May 8, 12:009.9N 147.1E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
May 8, 18:0010.2N 146.4E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
May 9, 00:0010.5N 145.7E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
May 9, 06:0010.8N 145.0E90 kt960 mbTropical storm
May 9, 12:0011.1N 144.1E100 kt950 mbTropical storm
May 9, 18:0011.5N 143.1E105 kt945 mbTropical storm
May 10, 00:0011.8N 142.0E110 kt935 mbTropical storm
May 10, 06:0012.1N 140.9E115 kt925 mbTropical storm
May 10, 12:0012.4N 139.7E115 kt925 mbTropical storm
May 10, 18:0012.7N 138.5E115 kt925 mbTropical storm
May 11, 00:0013.0N 137.1E115 kt925 mbTropical storm
May 11, 06:0013.3N 135.6E120 kt925 mbTropical storm
May 11, 12:0013.7N 134.1E125 kt925 mbTropical storm
May 11, 18:0014.1N 132.8E130 kt925 mbTropical storm
May 12, 00:0014.4N 131.6E135 kt920 mbTropical storm
May 12, 06:0014.8N 130.6E140 kt915 mbTropical storm
May 12, 12:0015.2N 129.6E140 kt915 mbTropical storm
May 12, 18:0015.6N 128.6E135 kt915 mbTropical storm
May 13, 00:0016.0N 127.8E130 kt915 mbTropical storm
May 13, 06:0016.3N 127.1E125 kt915 mbTropical storm
May 13, 12:0016.7N 126.5E125 kt920 mbTropical storm
May 13, 18:0017.1N 125.9E120 kt925 mbTropical storm
May 14, 00:0017.6N 125.4E115 kt935 mbTropical storm
May 14, 06:0018.2N 125.1E110 kt935 mbTropical storm
May 14, 12:0019.0N 124.8E105 kt940 mbTropical storm
May 14, 18:0019.7N 124.7E100 kt950 mbTropical storm
May 15, 00:0020.4N 124.7E95 kt950 mbTropical storm
May 15, 06:0021.2N 125.1E95 kt955 mbTropical storm
May 15, 12:0022.2N 125.9E90 kt960 mbTropical storm
May 15, 18:0023.3N 127.0E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
May 16, 00:0024.3N 128.6E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
May 16, 06:0025.3N 130.9E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
May 16, 12:0026.6N 133.7E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
May 16, 18:0027.9N 137.2E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
May 17, 00:0029.8N 142.0E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
May 17, 06:0032.4N 147.4E992 mbMixed
May 17, 12:0036.1N 152.2E992 mbMixed
May 17, 18:0040.0N 156.0E990 mbExtratropical
May 18, 00:0045.0N 158.0E984 mbExtratropical
May 18, 06:0046.0N 158.0E984 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 1991

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.