Hurricane History Map

1948 Western North Pacific season

31 storms formed in the Western North Pacific basin in 1948, from 11 January 1948 to 16 December 1948.

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Years1948
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

The 1948 season in numbers

The record holds 31 storms for the 1948 Western North Pacific season, of which 24 had names.26 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 15 reached typhoon strength (category 1 or more) and 5 were major (category 3 or more). 5 have no wind speed in the record.

  • 31storms
  • 26tropical storm strength or more
  • 15typhoon strength or more
  • 5major (category 3 to 5)
  • 208accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 1948

  • Karen (1948)11 January 1948 to 19 January 1948, peak Category 4 (130 kt)
  • Libby (1948)29 September 1948 to 7 October 1948, peak Category 4 (125 kt)
  • Ione (1948)11 September 1948 to 17 September 1948, peak Category 4 (120 kt)
  • Martha (1948)4 October 1948 to 8 October 1948, peak Category 3 (100 kt)
  • Rita (1948)1 November 1948 to 11 November 1948, peak Category 3 (100 kt)

All 31 storms of 1948

StormPeak
Karen Category 4
Lana Category 1
Mabel Category 1
Ophelia Tropical storm
Nadine Tropical storm
Pearl Category 2
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Rose Category 1
Bertha Category 1
Chris Tropical storm
Dolores Tropical storm
Flo Tropical storm
Gertrude Category 2
Hazel Category 1
Jackie Category 1
Ione Category 4
Kit Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Libby Category 4
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Martha Category 3
Norma Tropical storm
Olga Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Pat Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Rita Category 3
Agnes Category 2
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Beverly Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical storm

← 1947 · 1949 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1948

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