Typhoon Elaine path, 1971

What the record says

Elaine was a typhoon in the Western North Pacific basin that lasted about 9 days, from 1 October 1971 to 10 October 1971. Its peak was Category 3 (100 kt) on 7 October 1971, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 100 kt (115 mph, 185 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 965 hPa.

• Category 3peak intensity
• 100 ktpeak wind (115 mph)
• 965 hPalowest pressure
• 9 dayslifetime

Source of the peak wind: US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (western Pacific).

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

• 3 October 1971: Philippines (35 kt)
• 4 October 1971: Philippines (35 kt)
• 9 October 1971: Vietnam (40 kt)

A landfall here is the first tropical position over land after time at sea, so it is within about six hours of the real event. The record shows up to 8.

Countries it came within 50 km of

Strongest effect first.

• People's Republic of China
• Scarborough Shoal
• Vietnam
• Philippines
• Laos

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.