Typhoon Ruth path, 1962

What the record says

Ruth was a typhoon in the Western North Pacific basin that lasted about 13 days, from 12 August 1962 to 25 August 1962. Its peak was Category 5 (160 kt) on 16 August 1962, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 160 kt (184 mph, 296 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 915 hPa.

• Category 5peak intensity
• 160 ktpeak wind (184 mph)
• 915 hPalowest pressure
• 13 dayslifetime

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

It has its own page because it reached category 5 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.

• Northern Mariana Islands
• United States of America

US counties it came within 50 km of

• Northern Islands Municipality, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
• Saipan Municipality, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
• Tinian Municipality, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
• Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska

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.