Typhoon Vongfong path, 2014

What the record says

Vongfong was a typhoon in the Western North Pacific basin that lasted about 15 days, from 1 October 2014 to 16 October 2014. Its peak was Category 5 (155 kt) on 7 October 2014, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 155 kt (178 mph, 287 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 900 hPa.

• Category 5peak intensity
• 155 ktpeak wind (178 mph)
• 900 hPalowest pressure
• 15 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 115 kt on its own averaging convention (10-minute winds), so the two figures differ.

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

• 13 October 2014: Japan (50 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.

• Northern Mariana Islands
• Japan

US counties it came within 50 km of

• Rota Municipality, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

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.