1953 Pacific typhoon season

The 1953 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1954, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

1953 Pacific typhoon season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formed	February 18, 1953
Last system dissipated	December 22, 1953
Strongest storm
Name	Nina
• Maximum winds	295 km/h (185 mph) (1-minute sustained)
• Lowest pressure	885 hPa (mbar)
Seasonal statistics
Total storms	24
Typhoons	17
Super typhoons	5 (unofficial)
Total fatalities	430
Total damage	Unknown
Related articles
1953 Atlantic hurricane season 1953 Pacific hurricane season

The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and west of the international date line. Storms that form east of the date line and north of the equator are called hurricanes; see 1953 Pacific hurricane season. Tropical Storms formed in the entire west Pacific basin were assigned a name by the Fleet Weather Center on Guam.

Systems

Typhoon Irma

Category 3 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	February 18 – February 25
Peak intensity	185 km/h (115 mph) (1-min)  980 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Judy

Category 4 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	May 28 – June 7
Peak intensity	220 km/h (140 mph) (1-min)  940 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Judy struck the Southern Japanese island of Kyūshū. 37 people were killed and 15 were missing.

Tropical Storm 04W

Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Duration	June 24 – June 26
Peak intensity	75 km/h (45 mph) (1-min)  1000 hPa (mbar)

Super Typhoon Kit

Category 5 super typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	June 25 – July 8
Peak intensity	280 km/h (175 mph) (1-min)  910 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Lola

Category 1 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	July 23 – August 3
Peak intensity	150 km/h (90 mph) (1-min)  970 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Mamie

Category 3 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	July 30 – August 8
Peak intensity	185 km/h (115 mph) (1-min)  980 hPa (mbar)

Super Typhoon Nina

Category 5 super typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	August 8 – August 18
Peak intensity	295 km/h (185 mph) (1-min)  885 hPa (mbar)

Nina was a major storm. It made landfall in China as a Category 4 tropical cyclone.

Tropical Storm 09W

Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Duration	August 9 – August 11
Peak intensity	85 km/h (50 mph) (1-min)

Typhoon Ophelia

Category 3 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	August 12 – August 16
Peak intensity	185 km/h (115 mph) (1-min)  960 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Phyllis

Category 1 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	August 15 – August 22
Peak intensity	140 km/h (85 mph) (1-min)  975 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Rita

Category 4 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	August 23 – September 2
Peak intensity	230 km/h (145 mph) (1-min)  940 hPa (mbar)

Tropical Storm 13W

Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Duration	August 26 – August 29
Peak intensity	100 km/h (65 mph) (1-min)  995 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Susan

Category 3 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	September 15 – September 20
Peak intensity	205 km/h (125 mph) (1-min)  970 hPa (mbar)

Super Typhoon Tess

Category 5 super typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	September 17 – September 27
Peak intensity	280 km/h (175 mph) (1-min)  900 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Tess struck the Central Honshū Island in Japan. 393 people were killed and 85 were missing.

Tropical Storm 16W

Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Duration	September 25 – September 28
Peak intensity	75 km/h (45 mph) (1-min)  1000 hPa (mbar)

JMA Tropical Storm 15

Tropical Storm (JMA)
Duration	October 1 – October 3
Peak intensity	Winds not specified  999 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Viola

Category 3 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	October 3 – October 8
Peak intensity	185 km/h (115 mph) (1-min)  965 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Winnie

Category 1 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	October 6 – October 9
Peak intensity	120 km/h (75 mph) (1-min)  990 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Alice

Category 3 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	October 11 – October 23
Peak intensity	185 km/h (115 mph) (1-min)  915 hPa (mbar)

Super Typhoon Betty

Category 4 super typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	October 25 – November 2
Peak intensity	240 km/h (150 mph) (1-min)  965 hPa (mbar)

Typhoon Cora

Category 4 typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	November 8 – November 20
Peak intensity	220 km/h (140 mph) (1-min)  960 hPa (mbar)

Tropical Storm 22W

Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Duration	November 25 – November 29
Peak intensity	75 km/h (45 mph) (1-min)  1000 hPa (mbar)

Tropical Storm 23W

Tropical storm (SSHWS)
Duration	November 28 – December 3
Peak intensity	75 km/h (45 mph) (1-min)  1000 hPa (mbar)

Super Typhoon Doris

Category 5 super typhoon (SSHWS)
Duration	December 9 – December 22
Peak intensity	280 km/h (175 mph) (1-min)  935 hPa (mbar)

A rare late-season Super Typhoon. Did not affect land.

The Lost Hurricane Hunters 3: December 15, 1953

The third typhoon hunter mission lost occurred on December 16, 1953, during a penetration by a Navy PB4Y-2S (Bu No 59176) into Typhoon Doris. The aircraft was part of a six plane squadron, VJ-1/VW-3, COMFAIRGUAM, based at the Naval Air Station in Agana, Guam (VJ-1 was formed in 1952 at NAS Sand Point, Seattle, Washington, and the name later changed to VW-3). The PB4Y-2S aircraft made its initial penetration into Doris' eye at 200–300 feet. As the aircraft radioed back a report at 2245Z, the transmission suddenly ceased. The plane was never heard from again. At the time, Doris was a Category 2 typhoon with sustained winds of 95 knots (110 mph). Again, given the low penetration altitude of the aircraft, it is likely that a downdraft carried the plane into the sea. It's pretty common to get downdrafts that will cause a 300-foot loss of altitude, despite the attempts of the pilot to climb with full power to the engines.

A nine-day long search and rescue operation failed to find any trace of the missing aircraft. Tragically, two aircraft involved in the search and rescue mission crashed, killing 39 more people. The first of these planes was a R4D (DC 3) that crashed into the crater of Agrihan Island, Mariannas, killing all ten crew members. This aircraft was not from the NAS Agana, Guam group. In addition, a B-29 based at Anderson AFB had an engine fail while looking for the missing typhoon hunter aircraft, and crashed during landing into an officer's housing area on Guam. A total of 29 people died in the crash, including at least 11 of the 16 crew members on the aircraft.

The nine crewmen lost during the flight into Typhoon Doris were:

Pilot J. W. Newhall age 39

Co-pilot S. B. Marsden, age 29

Lt. Cmdr. D. Zimmerman Jr., age 35

Ltjg. F. Troescher Jr., age 26

AL1 F. R. Barnett, age 26

AD1 J. N. Clark, age 32

AD3 E. L. Myer, age 20

AL2 N. J. Stephens, age 23

AO3 A. J. Stott, age 23

https://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/hunter3.asp

Storm names

Irma Judy Kit Lola Mamie Nina Ophelia Phyllis Rita

Susan Tess Viola Winnie Alice Betty Cora Doris

See also

• 1953 Pacific hurricane season
• 1953 Atlantic hurricane season
• Pre-1980 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons
• Pre-1970 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclones