Since 1947, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has classified all typhoons in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean with wind speeds of at least 130knots—the equivalent of a strong Category 4 on the Saffir–Simpson scale, as super typhoons.[1] Since that year, 316 super typhoons have occurred in the basin, the latest being Typhoon Kong-rey in 2024. Only two Pacific typhoon seasons have not included at least one super typhoon, which were the 1949 and the 1974 seasons. The most typhoons to have reached this intensity in a single season is tied between 1965 and 1997, with 11 becoming super typhoons.
See also: Typhoon. All typhoons that reach an intensity of at least 130kn are referred to by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center as super typhoons. The first typhoon to be identified as a "super typhoon" by the JTWC was Typhoon Rosalind of 1947, a high-end Category 4-equivalent typhoon.[2] From there on, 4 years later, Typhoon Iris in 1951 would become the first Category 5-equivalent typhoon referred to as a super typhoon ever recorded.[3] Tropical cyclones of these violent intensities occur much more often in the Western Pacific, owing to the fact it has the warmest sea surface temperatures, which tropical cyclones need to thrive.[4] [5] Sufficient sea surface temperatures and the frequent passing of the Madden–Julian oscillation allow these cyclones to quickly intensify and blossom into violent storms.
Since the first super typhoon was designated, approximately 314 other super typhoons have formed to date. The strongest (and also the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded) was Typhoon Tip in 1979, the costliest (also the costliest typhoon on record) was Typhoon Doksuri in 2023, the longest-lived was Typhoon Rita in 1972, and the deadliest was Typhoon Haiyan in the record-breaking 2013 Pacific typhoon season. Additionally, the earliest-forming super typhoon was Typhoon Karen in January 1948.
| Name | data-sort-type="isoDate" | Dates as a super typhoon | Duration (hours) | Pressure | Sustained wind speeds | Areas affected | Deaths | Damage (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 918hPa | None | None | None | First recorded super typhoon | |||||
| 936hPa | None | None | None | First and only super typhoon recorded in the month of January | |||||
| 922hPa | None | None | None | ||||||
| Iris | 909hPa | 9 | $9.3 million | First category 5-equivalent super typhoon | |||||
| 910hPa | None | >$1.6 million | |||||||
| 914hPa | 10 | Unknown | |||||||
| 920hPa | None | None | Unknown | ||||||
| 930hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| Hester | 950hPa | None | None | ||||||
| 910hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 885hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 900hPa | Japan | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| 965hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 935hPa | None | None | None | ||||||
| 890hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| † | 901hPa | Japan | 107 | Unknown | |||||
| † | 900hPa | Philippines, Hong Kong | Unknown | Unknown | One of the first recorded Category 5 typhoons in the South China Sea | ||||
| 940hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 925hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 919hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 930hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 930hPa | Japan | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| 940hPa | None | None | |||||||
| 925hPa | None | None | None | ||||||
| 935hPa | None | None | None | ||||||
| 915hPa | 4,935 | Unknown | Deadliest typhoon of the 1950s | ||||||
| 930hPa | 77 | $8 million | |||||||
| 936hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 940hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 952hPa | None | None | None | ||||||
| 900hPa | Philippines, Taiwan, East China, Japan | 86 | $20 million | ||||||
| 905hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 930hPa | None | None | None | ||||||
| 900hPa | Japan | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| 960hPa | Japan | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| 900hPa | None | None | None | ||||||
| 940hPa | None | Minor | |||||||
| 940hPa | None | None | None | Strongest typhoon in May at the time, before being surpassed by Typhoon Damrey in 2000 | |||||
| † | 925hPa | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| 925hPa | Japan | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| 935hPa | Japan | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| 905hPa | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
| 920hPa | Japan | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| 877hPa | Japan | 1,269 | $50 million | Most intense Pacific typhoon at the time, before being surpassed by Typhoon June in 1975. | |||||
| 920hPa | None | None | None | ||||||
| 885hPa | None | None | |||||||
| 905hPa | >2,000 | >$102 million | |||||||
| 895hPa | East China, Japan | >5,000 | >$261 million | One of the strongest typhoons to ever strike Japan | |||||
| 905hPa | 46 | >$300 thousand | |||||||
| 915hPa | Japan | None | None | ||||||
| Gilda | 925hPa | 23 | $1.5 million | ||||||
| 51 systems | Jan 13, 1948 – Dec 19, 1959 | 877sigfig=4NaNsigfig=4 | 325km/h | 13,562 | $435.7 million |
| Name | Dates as a super typhoon | Duration (hours) | Pressure | Sustained wind speeds | Areas affected | Deaths | Damage (USD) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 910hPa | None | None | |||||||
| 928hPa | 7 | Unknown | First super typhoon name retired[6] | ||||||
| Tess | March 28–29, 1961 | 30 hours | 940 hPa (27.75 inHg) | 240km/h | None | None | None | ||
| Pamela | September 11, 1961 | 18 hours | 910 hPa (26.87 inHg) | 285km/h | Taiwan, East China | 98 dead, 27 missing | $5 million | ||
| Nancy | September 9–15, 1961 | 144 hours | 882 hPa (26.05 inHg) | 345km/h | Guam, Ryukyu Islands, Japan | 202 dead, 8 missing | $500 million | Once considered to have had the strongest wind speeds ever recorded in a tropical cyclone prior to more reliable measurements from Hurricane Patricia[7] | |
| Tilda | September 29–October 2, 1961 | 54 hours | 925 hPa (27.31 inHg) | 260km/h | Ryukyu Islands, East China | 2 | Unknown | ||
| Violet | October 6–8, 1961 | 60 hours | 895 hPa (26.42 inHg) | 335km/h | Japan | 2 | None | ||
| Dot | October 9–12, 1961 | 66 hours | 930 hPa (27.46 inHg) | 260km/h | Guam, Northern Mariana Islands | None | Unknown |
| Name | Dates as a super typhoon | Duration (hours) | Pressure | Areas affected | Deaths | Damage (USD) | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rita | July 10-July 13, 1972 | 96 hours | 910 hPa (26.87 inHg) | Caroline Islands, Ryukyu Islands, South China | 377 | $445 million | |
| Nora | October 4-October 6, 1973 | 48 hours | 875 hPa (25.84 inHg) | Philippines, Taiwan, Eastern China, Hong Kong | 40 | $2 million | |
| Nina | July 30-August 8, 1975 | 54 hours | 924 hPa (27.46 in Hg) | Taiwan, East China | 230,000 | $1.2 billion | |
| June | November 17-November 21, 1975 | 96 hours | 875 hPa (25.84 inHg) | Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Guam | None | $300,000 | |
| Tip | October 11-October 17, 1979 | 168 hours | 870 hPa (25.69 inHg) | Caroline Islands, Philippines, Korean Peninsula, Japan, Northeast China, Russian Far East, Alaska | 99 | $484 million |
| Name | Dates as a super typhoon | Duration (hours) | Pressure | Sustained wind speeds | Areas affected | Deaths | Damage (USD) | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 885hPa | 69 | $709 million | [8] [9] [10] [11] | |||||
| 920hPa | Micronesia, Philippines, Japan | 17 | $287 million | [12] [13] [14] | ||||
| 930hPa | Micronesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Russia | 22 | $480 million | [15] [16] [17] [18] | ||||
| 925hPa | Philippines, Taiwan, China, | 38 | $1.49 billion | |||||
| 935hPa | 18 | $250 million | ||||||
| 935hPa | 3 | $100 million | ||||||
| 900hPa | 6 | $361 million | ||||||
| 905hPa | 2 | $27.4 million | ||||||
| 930hPa | 1,901 | $1.16 billon | ||||||
| 925hPa | 97 | $3.55 billion | ||||||
| 910hPa | 39 | $4.32 billion | ||||||
| 920hPa | None | $150,000 | ||||||
| 905hPa | None | None | ||||||
| 905hPa | 6,352 | $2.98 billion | ||||||
| 930hPa | 3 | $632 million | ||||||
| 935hPa | 225 | $8.08 billion | ||||||
| 915hPa | 12 | $72.8 million | ||||||
| 915hPa | None | None | None | |||||
| 935hPa | 11 | $100 million | ||||||
| 900hPa | 9 | $161 million | ||||||
| 910hPa | Japan | None | Minimal | |||||
| 905hPa | 18 | $114 million | ||||||
| 940hPa | None | None | None | |||||
| 910hPa | 5 | $8.5 million | ||||||
| 920hPa | Caroline Islands, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan | 2 | $23.8 million | |||||
| 925hPa | 1 | $13.5 million | ||||||
| 925hPa | 2 | $209 million | ||||||
| 900hPa | Mariana Islands, Philippines, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan | 59 | $4.09 billion | |||||
| 925hPa | None | None | ||||||
| 925hPa | Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, East China | 3 | $406 million | |||||
| 925hPa | Northern Mariana Islands, Philippines, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands | 62 | $948 million | |||||
| 900hPa | Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Philippines, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, East China | 111 | $1.89 billion | |||||
| 895hPa | 47 | $4.79 billion | ||||||
| 905hPa | Mariana Islands, South Korea, Japan, Russian Far East | 10 | $129 million | |||||
| 925hPa | None | Unknown | ||||||
| 900hPa | Caroline Islands, Philippines, Taiwan, China, Japan | 19 | $972 million | |||||
| 915hPa | Caroline Islands, Philippines, Vietnam | 13 | $123 million | |||||
| 935hPa | Japan | 2 | $100 million | |||||
| 915hPa | Caroline Islands, Philippines, Japan, South Korea | 17 | $2 billion | |||||
| 915hPa | Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands | 2 | Unknown | |||||
| 915hPa | Mariana Islands, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, China | 2 | $673 million | |||||
| 915hPa | Northern Mariana Islands, Taiwan, Japan, Russian Far East | 21 | $14 billion | |||||
| 905hPa | Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, China, Vietnam, Japan | 134 | $3.77 billion | |||||
| 915hPa | 4 | $2.69 billion | [19] [20] | |||||
| 900hPa | 3 | $171.5 million | [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] | |||||
| 900hPa | 30 | $855 million | [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] | |||||
| † | 920hPa | None | $3.3 million | [31] [32] | ||||
| 925hPa | 250 kilometres per hour (155 mph) | 105 | $9.28 billion | [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] | ||||
| † | 915hPa | 99 | $15 billion | [42] | ||||
| 935hPa | 13 | $200 million | ||||||
| 905hPa | None | None | None | |||||
| Dates as a super typhoon | Duration (hours) | Pressure | Sustained wind speeds | Areas affected | Deaths | Damage (USD) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 910hPa | 250 km/h (155 mph) | [43] [44] | ||||||
| 905hPa | [45] [46] [47] | |||||||
| 895hPa | ||||||||
| Chanthu | 905hPa | |||||||
| Rai | 915hPa | |||||||
| Hinnamnor | 920hPa | |||||||
| September 16-17, 2022 | 18 hours | 910 hPa (26.87 inHg) | 250round=5NaNround=5 | Japan, South Korea | 6 | $6 billion | ||
| Noru | September 25, 2022 | 9 hours | 940 hPa (27.76 inHg) | 260round=5NaNround=5 | Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia | 40 | $110 million | |
| May 23 & May 25-27, 2023 | 60 hours | 900 hPa (26.72 inHg) | 305round=5NaNround=5 | Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands | 6 | 1 | ||
| Doksuri | July 25, 2023 | 9 hours | 925 hPa (27.32 inHg) | 240round=5NaNround=5 | Philippines, Taiwan, China, Vietnam | 137 | $28 billion | |
| Saola | August 29–31, 2023 | ~45 hours | 920 hPa (26.91 inHg) | 260round=5NaNround=5 | Hong Kong, Macau, South China, Philippines, Taiwan | 3 | $545 million | |
| Bolaven | October 10-12, 2023 | 30 hours | 905 hPa (26.72 inHg) | 305round=5NaNround=5 | Northern Mariana Islands, Guam | None | None | |
| Yagi | September 5-6, 2024 | 915 hPa (27.02 inHg) | 260round=5NaNround=5 | Philippines, China, Vietnam | 815 | >$16.5 billion | ||
| Krathon | September 26 - October 4, 2024 | 915 hPa (27.02 inHg) | 240round=5NaNround=5 | Philippines, Taiwan | 18 | >$33.6 million | ||
| Kong-rey | October 30, 2024 | ~ | 925 hPa (27.32 inHg) | 240round=5NaNround=5 | Philippines, Taiwan | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Man-yi | November 16 | 925 hPa (27.17 inHg) | 260round=5NaNround=5 | Philippines | 10 | $17,367 |