Hurricane History Map

1979 Western North Pacific season

37 storms formed in the Western North Pacific basin in 1979, from 27 December 1978 to 23 December 1979.

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Years1979
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 1979 season in numbers

The record holds 37 storms for the 1979 Western North Pacific season, of which 23 had names.23 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 14 reached typhoon strength (category 1 or more) and 8 were major (category 3 or more). 9 have no wind speed in the record.

  • 37storms
  • 23tropical storm strength or more
  • 14typhoon strength or more
  • 8major (category 3 to 5)
  • 279accumulated 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 1979

  • Tip (1979)2 October 1979 to 22 October 1979, peak Category 5 (165 kt), 870 hPa
  • Vera (1979)27 October 1979 to 10 November 1979, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 915 hPa
  • Judy (1979)15 August 1979 to 27 August 1979, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 910 hPa
  • Hope (1979)24 July 1979 to 10 August 1979, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 900 hPa
  • Alice (1979)27 December 1978 to 15 January 1979, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 930 hPa

All 37 storms of 1979

StormPeak
Alice Category 3
Bess Category 2
Cecil Category 1
Dot Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Ellis Category 2
Faye Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Hope Category 4
Gordon Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Irving Category 2
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Judy Category 4
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Ken Tropical storm
Lola Category 2
Mac Category 1
Nancy Tropical storm
Owen Category 3
Pamela Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Sarah Category 3
Roger Tropical storm
Tip Category 5
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Vera Category 5
Wayne Tropical storm
Abby Category 3
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Ben Tropical storm

← 1978 · 1980 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1979

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