The 1996 season

Typhoon Fern (1996)

Typhoon Fern reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between December 17, 1996 and December 30, 1996, with a lowest pressure of 975 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Fern, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1996 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 17, 1996 to December 30, 1996
Peak strength
Category 1, 80 kt (92 mph)
Lowest pressure
975 mb (28.79 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 883 km (549 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
11.9
Fastest the center moved
9 kt (10 mph)
Identifier
WP421996

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Dec 17, 12:005.2N 151.3E20 ktNot reported
Dec 17, 18:005.4N 150.8E20 ktNot reported
Dec 18, 00:005.5N 150.3E20 ktNot reported
Dec 18, 06:005.6N 149.5E20 ktNot reported
Dec 18, 12:005.7N 148.8E20 ktNot reported
Dec 18, 18:005.9N 148.1E20 ktNot reported
Dec 19, 00:006.1N 147.4E20 ktNot reported
Dec 19, 06:006.3N 146.7E20 ktNot reported
Dec 19, 12:006.5N 146.0E25 ktNot reported
Dec 19, 18:006.8N 145.4E25 ktNot reported
Dec 20, 00:007.4N 144.3E25 ktNot reported
Dec 20, 06:007.5N 143.5E25 ktNot reported
Dec 20, 12:007.6N 142.6E25 ktNot reported
Dec 20, 18:007.8N 142.2E25 ktNot reported
Dec 21, 00:007.9N 142.0E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Dec 21, 06:008.0N 141.8E30 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Dec 21, 12:008.2N 141.6E35 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Dec 21, 18:008.3N 141.4E40 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Dec 22, 00:008.5N 141.2E45 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Dec 22, 06:008.6N 141.1E45 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Dec 22, 12:008.7N 141.0E45 kt998 mbTropical storm
Dec 22, 18:008.8N 140.8E40 kt996 mbTropical storm
Dec 23, 00:008.8N 140.6E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Dec 23, 06:008.8N 140.4E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Dec 23, 12:008.7N 140.1E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Dec 23, 18:008.5N 139.6E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Dec 24, 00:008.5N 139.0E45 kt994 mbTropical storm
Dec 24, 06:008.6N 138.7E50 kt992 mbTropical storm
Dec 24, 12:008.8N 138.5E55 kt988 mbTropical storm
Dec 24, 18:009.0N 138.3E55 kt988 mbTropical storm
Dec 25, 00:009.2N 138.2E55 kt988 mbTropical storm
Dec 25, 06:009.4N 138.2E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 25, 12:009.8N 138.3E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 25, 18:0010.1N 138.4E65 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 26, 00:0010.6N 138.5E70 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 26, 06:0011.3N 138.7E75 kt980 mbTropical storm
Dec 26, 12:0011.7N 138.8E80 kt975 mbTropical storm
Dec 26, 18:0012.0N 138.8E80 kt975 mbTropical storm
Dec 27, 00:0012.4N 138.8E80 kt975 mbTropical storm
Dec 27, 06:0013.0N 138.7E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Dec 27, 12:0013.6N 138.8E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Dec 27, 18:0014.3N 139.1E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Dec 28, 00:0014.8N 139.7E75 kt980 mbTropical storm
Dec 28, 06:0015.8N 140.6E75 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 28, 12:0016.2N 141.6E75 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 28, 18:0016.8N 142.6E75 kt985 mbTropical storm
Dec 29, 00:0017.1N 143.6E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Dec 29, 06:0018.4N 144.7E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Dec 29, 12:0019.0N 146.3E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Dec 29, 18:0019.3N 148.3E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Dec 30, 00:0019.8N 150.2E998 mbMixed
Dec 30, 06:0020.7N 153.5E1000 mbMixed
Dec 30, 12:0021.0N 158.0E1004 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 1996

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.