The 2012 season

Typhoon Bolaven (2012)

Typhoon Bolaven reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between August 18, 2012 and September 1, 2012, with a lowest pressure of 929 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Bolaven, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2012 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
August 18, 2012 to September 1, 2012
Peak strength
Category 4, 125 kt (144 mph)
Lowest pressure
929 mb (27.43 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
28.1
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
235 nmi (435 km, 270 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached
70 nmi (130 km, 81 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak
20 nmi (37 km, 23 mi)
Overall size
245 nmi (454 km, 282 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Peak gust in the best track
150 kt (173 mph)
Fastest the center moved
60 kt (69 mph)
Identifier
WP162012

Radar at RODN as it neared land, Aug 26, 12:00 UTC

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Aug 18, 12:0013.2N 141.4E15 kt1009 mbDisturbance
Aug 18, 18:0013.8N 141.9E20 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 19, 00:0014.3N 142.3E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Aug 19, 06:0014.9N 142.5E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Aug 19, 12:0016.0N 142.3E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Aug 19, 18:0016.8N 141.9E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Aug 20, 00:0017.2N 141.8E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Aug 20, 06:0017.6N 141.7E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 12:0018.1N 141.5E40 kt993 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 18:0018.3N 141.1E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 00:0018.3N 140.7E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 06:0018.4N 140.2E60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 12:0018.7N 139.8E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Aug 21, 18:0019.0N 139.2E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Aug 22, 00:0019.2N 138.5E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Aug 22, 06:0019.3N 137.8E80 kt963 mbTyphoon
Aug 22, 12:0019.4N 137.1E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Aug 22, 18:0019.5N 136.3E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Aug 23, 00:0019.6N 135.6E95 kt952 mbTyphoon
Aug 23, 06:0020.1N 135.0E100 kt948 mbTyphoon
Aug 23, 12:0020.2N 134.2E100 kt948 mbTyphoon
Aug 23, 18:0020.5N 133.8E105 kt944 mbTyphoon
Aug 24, 00:0021.2N 133.8E105 kt944 mbTyphoon
Aug 24, 06:0021.7N 133.3E110 kt941 mbTyphoon
Aug 24, 12:0022.3N 133.0E120 kt933 mbTyphoon
Aug 24, 18:0022.9N 132.7E125 kt929 mbTyphoon
Aug 25, 00:0023.5N 132.1E125 kt929 mbTyphoon
Aug 25, 06:0024.1N 131.3E120 kt933 mbTyphoon
Aug 25, 12:0024.4N 130.6E120 kt933 mbTyphoon
Aug 25, 18:0024.8N 130.1E120 kt933 mbTyphoon
Aug 26, 00:0025.3N 129.5E115 kt937 mbTyphoon
Aug 26, 06:0025.9N 128.9E110 kt941 mbTyphoon
Aug 26, 12:0026.6N 128.0E105 kt944 mbTyphoon
Aug 26, 18:0027.5N 127.4E100 kt948 mbTyphoon
Aug 27, 00:0028.6N 126.8E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Aug 27, 06:0029.9N 126.0E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Aug 27, 12:0031.3N 125.5E70 kt970 mbTyphoon
Aug 27, 18:0033.0N 125.2E70 kt970 mbTyphoon
Aug 28, 00:0034.8N 124.7E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 28, 06:0036.8N 124.6E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Aug 28, 12:0038.9N 125.0E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Aug 28, 18:0041.5N 125.6E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Aug 29, 00:0044.2N 127.3E30 kt1000 mbExtratropical
Aug 29, 06:0046.2N 129.7E982 mbExtratropical
Aug 29, 12:0047.8N 132.1E984 mbExtratropical
Aug 29, 18:0050.1N 134.5E986 mbExtratropical
Aug 30, 00:0051.8N 139.5E988 mbExtratropical
Aug 30, 06:0052.6N 141.8E986 mbExtratropical
Aug 30, 12:0053.7N 145.8E988 mbExtratropical
Aug 30, 18:0054.9N 148.0E988 mbExtratropical
Aug 31, 00:0054.8N 150.3E990 mbExtratropical
Aug 31, 06:0055.0N 153.2E992 mbExtratropical
Aug 31, 12:0055.3N 163.7E996 mbExtratropical
Aug 31, 18:0055.0N 167.2E994 mbExtratropical
Sep 1, 00:0054.2N 172.4E994 mbExtratropical
Sep 1, 06:0053.9N 174.9E992 mbExtratropical
Sep 1, 12:0053.5N 178.3E990 mbExtratropical
Sep 1, 18:0053.7N 181.9EExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 2012

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.