Typhoon Choi-Wan path, 2003

What the record says

Choi-Wan was a typhoon in the Western North Pacific basin that lasted about 8 days, from 16 September 2003 to 24 September 2003. Its peak was Category 3 (100 kt) on 21 September 2003, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 100 kt (115 mph, 185 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 955 hPa.

• Category 3peak intensity
• 100 ktpeak wind (115 mph)
• 955 hPalowest pressure
• 8 dayslifetime

Source of the peak wind: US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (western Pacific). The regional forecast centre (RSMC Tokyo (Japan Meteorological Agency)) gave a peak of 70 kt on its own averaging convention (10-minute winds), so the two figures differ.

It has its own page because it reached category 3 or stronger.

This page gives the official record's figures. It does not describe the human cost of the storm, which is far larger than any wind speed or pressure here.

Where it came ashore

The record shows no landfall: the storm stayed at sea.

Countries it came within 50 km of

Strongest effect first.

• Japan

How to read this track

The line joins the storm's six-hourly positions with straight lines, coloured by its intensity at each point, so it shows how the storm strengthened and weakened. The real path curved between the positions. A dashed grey stretch means the storm had become post-tropical. Records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are estimates.

Source: NOAA NCEI IBTrACS, public domain. See data sources and caveats.