Typhoon Nancy (1961)
| Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale) | |
A radar image of Nancy
|
|
| Formed | September 7, 1961 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | September 22, 1961 |
| (Extratropical after September 16) | |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 345 km/h (215 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 882 hPa (mbar); 26.05 inHg |
| Fatalities | 172–191 direct |
| Damage | $500 million (1961 USD) |
| Areas affected | Guam, Ryūkyū Islands, Japan |
| Part of the 1961 Pacific typhoon season | |
Super Typhoon Nancy, also known as the 2nd Muroto Typhoon (第二室戸台風 Daini-muroto Taifū?), was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone of the 1961 Pacific typhoon season. The system had possibly the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, tied with Hurricane Patricia of 2015. It caused extensive damage and at least 173 deaths and thousands of injuries in Japan and elsewhere in September 1961.
A tropical depression formed from a low near Kwajalein Atoll on September 7. It strengthened rapidly; by the time position fixes could be taken, Nancy was nearly a super typhoon. Moving gradually westward, Nancy explosively deepened and reached wind speeds equivalent to a Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale) on September 9. It would maintain that intensity for the next several days.
Shortly after reaching peak intensity, Nancy approached the Ryūkyū Islands and began turning. It passed near Okinawa and over Haze. The ridge steering Nancy broke down, and the typhoon turned sharply and headed towards Japan. Nancy made landfall as a strong typhoon on September 16 as it passed directly over Muroto Zaki. Nancy made a second landfall on Honshū near Osaka. The typhoon rapidly traveled up the length of the island as it continued accelerating, eventually reaching a forward speed of 65 mph (100 km/h, 55 knots). The typhoon quickly crossed over Hokkaidō before entering the Sea of Okhotsk as a tropical storm. Nancy went extratropical on September 17. The extratropical system eventually crossed over Kamchatka and entered the open ocean.
...
Wikipedia