The 2009 season

Typhoon Kujira (2009)

Typhoon Kujira reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between April 30, 2009 and May 13, 2009, with a lowest pressure of 937 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Kujira, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2009 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
April 30, 2009 to May 13, 2009
Peak strength
Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
Lowest pressure
937 mb (27.67 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
12.9
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
95 nmi (176 km, 109 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
40 nmi (74 km, 46 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
25 nmi (46 km, 29 mi)
Overall size
205 nmi (380 km, 236 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Fastest the center moved
31 kt (36 mph)
Identifier
WP012009

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Apr 30, 18:0013.0N 124.4E15 kt1010 mbDisturbance
May 1, 00:0012.7N 124.5E15 kt1010 mbDisturbance
May 1, 06:0012.6N 124.3E15 kt1010 mbDisturbance
May 1, 12:0012.7N 124.1E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
May 1, 18:0013.0N 124.1E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
May 2, 00:0013.2N 124.2E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
May 2, 06:0013.3N 124.3E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
May 2, 12:0013.4N 124.4E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
May 2, 18:0013.5N 124.5E40 kt993 mbTropical storm
May 3, 00:0013.7N 124.7E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
May 3, 06:0014.1N 125.2E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
May 3, 12:0014.7N 125.9E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
May 3, 18:0015.2N 126.7E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
May 4, 00:0015.7N 127.5E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
May 4, 06:0016.3N 128.5E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
May 4, 12:0016.8N 129.7E105 kt944 mbTyphoon
May 4, 18:0017.2N 131.2E115 kt937 mbTyphoon
May 5, 00:0017.6N 132.7E115 kt937 mbTyphoon
May 5, 06:0018.3N 134.1E110 kt941 mbTyphoon
May 5, 12:0018.9N 135.5E105 kt944 mbTyphoon
May 5, 18:0019.5N 136.9E105 kt944 mbTyphoon
May 6, 00:0020.4N 138.4E105 kt944 mbTyphoon
May 6, 06:0021.6N 139.9E100 kt948 mbTyphoon
May 6, 12:0022.8N 141.5E85 kt959 mbTyphoon
May 6, 18:0024.3N 142.7E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
May 7, 00:0026.0N 143.7E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
May 7, 06:0028.2N 145.2E45 kt989 mbExtratropical
May 7, 12:0030.5N 147.8E40 kt993 mbExtratropical
May 7, 18:0032.7N 151.1E40 kt993 mbExtratropical
May 8, 00:0034.4N 151.1E1000 mbExtratropical
May 8, 06:0036.1N 152.7E1000 mbExtratropical
May 8, 12:0037.8N 154.6E1000 mbExtratropical
May 8, 18:0040.6N 156.4E998 mbExtratropical
May 9, 00:0041.9N 159.3E998 mbExtratropical
May 9, 06:0043.0N 161.8E998 mbExtratropical
May 9, 12:0043.8N 163.6E1000 mbExtratropical
May 9, 18:0044.4N 164.8E1000 mbExtratropical
May 10, 00:0045.1N 165.9E1002 mbExtratropical
May 10, 06:0045.4N 166.6E1002 mbExtratropical
May 10, 12:0045.8N 167.4E1002 mbExtratropical
May 10, 18:0045.9N 168.5E1002 mbExtratropical
May 11, 00:0046.6N 169.3E1006 mbExtratropical
May 11, 06:0047.2N 170.2E1008 mbExtratropical
May 11, 12:0048.3N 171.0E1008 mbExtratropical
May 11, 18:0049.5N 171.4E1008 mbExtratropical
May 12, 00:0050.7N 171.5E1010 mbExtratropical
May 12, 06:0052.2N 170.5E1010 mbExtratropical
May 12, 12:0053.3N 168.6E1010 mbExtratropical
May 12, 18:0053.9N 167.4E1010 mbExtratropical
May 13, 00:0054.2N 166.0E1012 mbExtratropical
May 13, 06:0055.0N 164.3E1014 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 2009

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.