The 2012 season

Typhoon Saola (2012)

Typhoon Saola reached Category 2 in the Western Pacific between July 26, 2012 and August 5, 2012, with a lowest pressure of 956 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Saola, 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
July 26, 2012 to August 5, 2012
Peak strength
Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)
Lowest pressure
956 mb (28.23 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
8.4
Tropical-storm-force wind reached
140 nmi (259 km, 161 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
20 nmi (37 km, 23 mi)
Overall size
225 nmi (417 km, 259 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Fastest the center moved
15 kt (17 mph)
Identifier
WP102012

Deaths and damage

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

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Jul 26, 18:0010.6N 131.0E1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 27, 00:0012.3N 128.8E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Jul 27, 06:0012.4N 128.3E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Jul 27, 12:0012.7N 127.6E20 kt1007 mbDisturbance
Jul 27, 18:0013.6N 127.3E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Jul 28, 00:0014.5N 127.0E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Jul 28, 06:0015.4N 126.6E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Jul 28, 12:0016.2N 126.3E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Jul 28, 18:0017.0N 126.1E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 29, 00:0017.8N 126.0E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 29, 06:0018.4N 125.8E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Jul 29, 12:0018.6N 125.3E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 29, 18:0019.1N 124.9E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Jul 30, 00:0019.7N 125.0E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Jul 30, 06:0020.1N 124.9E55 kt982 mbTropical storm
Jul 30, 12:0020.5N 124.7E60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Jul 30, 18:0020.4N 124.3E60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Jul 31, 00:0020.6N 124.3E60 kt978 mbTropical storm
Jul 31, 06:0021.2N 124.5E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Jul 31, 12:0021.8N 124.1E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Jul 31, 18:0022.3N 123.8E75 kt967 mbTyphoon
Aug 1, 00:0022.8N 123.6E85 kt959 mbTyphoon
Aug 1, 06:0023.5N 123.4E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Aug 1, 12:0024.0N 122.9E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Aug 1, 18:0024.3N 122.0E90 kt956 mbTyphoon
Aug 2, 00:0024.1N 121.9E65 kt974 mbTyphoon
Aug 2, 06:0024.9N 122.0E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Aug 2, 12:0025.5N 121.3E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Aug 2, 18:0026.2N 120.6E45 kt989 mbTropical storm
Aug 3, 00:0026.6N 119.7E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Aug 3, 06:0026.9N 118.6E25 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Aug 3, 12:0027.3N 117.6E20 kt1007 mbTropical depression
Aug 3, 18:0027.7N 116.5E992 mbTropical storm
Aug 4, 00:0027.7N 115.8E994 mbTropical storm
Aug 4, 06:0027.4N 115.0E994 mbTropical storm
Aug 4, 12:0027.0N 113.7E996 mbTropical storm
Aug 4, 18:0026.3N 112.5E996 mbMixed
Aug 5, 00:0025.5N 111.5E998 mbMixed

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.