.gif)
Typhoon Nancy (1961)
Encyclopedia
Super Typhoon Nancy was a powerful tropical cyclone
of the 1961 Pacific typhoon season
. The system with possibly the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, Nancy caused extensive damage and at least 173 deaths and thousands of injuries in Japan
and elsewhere in September 1961. The destruction was so heavy that the Japan Meteorological Agency
gave the typhoon its own special name, one of only eight systems to have been named.
near Kwajalein Atoll on September 7. It strengthened rapidly; by the time position fixes could be taken, Nancy was nearly a super typhoon. Moving gradually westward, Nancy explosively deepened and reached wind speeds equivalent to a Category 5 (Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
) on September 9. It would maintain that intensity for the next several days.
Shortly after reaching peak intensity, Nancy approached the Ryūkyū Islands
and began turning. It passed near Okinawa and over Haze. The ridge
steering Nancy broke down, and the typhoon turned sharply and headed towards Japan. Nancy made landfall as a strong typhoon on September 16 as it passed directly over Muroto Zaki. Nancy made a second landfall on Honshū
near Osaka
. The typhoon
rapidly traveled up the length of the island as it continued accelerating, eventually reaching a forward speed of 65 mph (100 km/h, 55 knots). The typhoon quickly crossed over Hokkaidō
before entering the Sea of Okhotsk
as a tropical storm. Nancy went extratropical on September 17. The extratropical system eventually crossed over Kamchatka and entered the open ocean.
, over half of all crops were destroyed by heavy winds and rain. A total of $40,000 (1961 USD
) worth of damage was done to roads on the island. Most of the damage was on the southern end of the island. No deaths were reported on Guam.
On Amami-o-Shima, one person was missing and another was badly injured. A ship was sunk. Extensive flooding of crops and houses left 152 people homeless.
Hundreds of thousands of people had their lives disrupted. Super typhoon Nancy destroyed 11,539 houses, damaged 32,604 homes, and flooded 280,078 others. Although the exact number may never be known, the Stars and Stripes
reported in late September that over 1,056 ships and fishing vessels were sunk or blown ashore and many more were damaged.
Floodwaters washed away 566 bridges and caused 1146 landslide
s. Roads were destroyed at a total of 2,053 locations. Damages in Osaka
amounted to $500 million (1961 USD).
Due to Nancy's damage and death toll, the Japan Meteorological Agency
named Nancy the "Second Muroto Typhoon". Nancy is one of only eight typhoons to receive special names in Japan.
, Typhoon Keith, Hurricane Allen
, Hurricane Camille
, Typhoon Vera, and Typhoon Sarah
all had winds of 190 mph, the highest verified tropical cyclone windspeed.
Although the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale
didn't exist at the time, Nancy would have been a Category 5 equivalent for a total of five and a half days (or 132 hours). This is a record for the Northern Hemisphere
and more than a day longer than the next-highest system, 1962's Karen.
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
of the 1961 Pacific typhoon season
1961 Pacific typhoon season
The 1961 Pacific typhoon season had no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1961, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December...
. The system with possibly the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, Nancy caused extensive damage and at least 173 deaths and thousands of injuries in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and elsewhere in September 1961. The destruction was so heavy that the Japan Meteorological Agency
Japan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
gave the typhoon its own special name, one of only eight systems to have been named.
Meteorological history
A tropical depression formed from a lowLow pressure area
A low-pressure area, or "low", is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is below that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence which occur in upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as...
near Kwajalein Atoll on September 7. It strengthened rapidly; by the time position fixes could be taken, Nancy was nearly a super typhoon. Moving gradually westward, Nancy explosively deepened and reached wind speeds equivalent to a Category 5 (Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
) on September 9. It would maintain that intensity for the next several days.
Shortly after reaching peak intensity, Nancy approached the Ryūkyū Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
and began turning. It passed near Okinawa and over Haze. The ridge
Ridge (meteorology)
A ridge is an elongated region of relatively high atmospheric pressure, the opposite of a trough....
steering Nancy broke down, and the typhoon turned sharply and headed towards Japan. Nancy made landfall as a strong typhoon on September 16 as it passed directly over Muroto Zaki. Nancy made a second landfall on Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
near Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
. The typhoon
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
rapidly traveled up the length of the island as it continued accelerating, eventually reaching a forward speed of 65 mph (100 km/h, 55 knots). The typhoon quickly crossed over Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
before entering the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
as a tropical storm. Nancy went extratropical on September 17. The extratropical system eventually crossed over Kamchatka and entered the open ocean.
Impact
Although no monetary value of all damage is known, damage was "phenomenal" in all areas where Nancy hit. There were at least 173 deaths and 19 people unaccounted for.Guam
On GuamGuam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, over half of all crops were destroyed by heavy winds and rain. A total of $40,000 (1961 USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
) worth of damage was done to roads on the island. Most of the damage was on the southern end of the island. No deaths were reported on Guam.
Minor Japanese islands
On Okinawa, low-lying areas experienced heavy flooding, which did significant damage to agriculture and structures. No one was killed on Okinawa.On Amami-o-Shima, one person was missing and another was badly injured. A ship was sunk. Extensive flooding of crops and houses left 152 people homeless.
Japan
In Japan, 172 persons were killed, 18 were missing, and 3,184 people were injured. These totals made Nancy the sixth-deadliest typhoon to hit Japan at the time. Timely warnings and adequate preparations were probably responsible for the relatively low death toll. The damage was "small" relative to other typhoons that impacted densely-populated areas of Japan.Hundreds of thousands of people had their lives disrupted. Super typhoon Nancy destroyed 11,539 houses, damaged 32,604 homes, and flooded 280,078 others. Although the exact number may never be known, the Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
reported in late September that over 1,056 ships and fishing vessels were sunk or blown ashore and many more were damaged.
Floodwaters washed away 566 bridges and caused 1146 landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
s. Roads were destroyed at a total of 2,053 locations. Damages in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
amounted to $500 million (1961 USD).
Due to Nancy's damage and death toll, the Japan Meteorological Agency
Japan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
named Nancy the "Second Muroto Typhoon". Nancy is one of only eight typhoons to receive special names in Japan.
Records
A reconnaissance aircraft flying into the typhoon near its peak intensity on September 12 determined Nancy's one-minute sustained winds to be 185 knots (215 mph; 345 km/h). If these values are reliable, they would be the highest wind speeds ever measured in a tropical cyclone. However, it was later determined that measurements and estimations of wind speeds from the 1940s to 1960s were excessive. Thus, Nancy's winds may actually be lower than its official best-track value. If Nancy did indeed have 215 mph winds, it would have had the fastest sustained windspeeds of any tropical cyclone by 25 mph. Typhoon TipTyphoon Tip
Typhoon Tip was the largest and most intense tropical cyclone on record. The nineteenth tropical storm and twelfth typhoon of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season, Tip developed out of a disturbance in the monsoon trough on October 4 near Pohnpei...
, Typhoon Keith, Hurricane Allen
Hurricane Allen
Hurricane Allen was the first and strongest hurricane of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season. It was one of the strongest hurricanes in recorded history, one of the few hurricanes to reach Category 5 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale on three separate occasions, and spent more time...
, Hurricane Camille
Hurricane Camille
Hurricane Camille was the third and strongest tropical cyclone and second hurricane during the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season. The second of three catastrophic Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the United States during the 20th century , which it did near the mouth of the Mississippi River...
, Typhoon Vera, and Typhoon Sarah
1959 Pacific typhoon season
The 1959 Pacific typhoon season had no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1959, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December...
all had winds of 190 mph, the highest verified tropical cyclone windspeed.
Although the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
didn't exist at the time, Nancy would have been a Category 5 equivalent for a total of five and a half days (or 132 hours). This is a record for the Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
and more than a day longer than the next-highest system, 1962's Karen.
See also
- Other storms of the same name
