Typhoon Gilda path, 1959

What the record says

Gilda was a typhoon in the Western North Pacific basin that lasted about 11 days, from 11 December 1959 to 22 December 1959. Its peak was Category 5 (150 kt) on 17 December 1959, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 150 kt (173 mph, 278 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 925 hPa.

• Category 5peak intensity
• 150 ktpeak wind (173 mph)
• 925 hPalowest pressure
• 11 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

• 18 December 1959: Philippines (130 kt)
• 19 December 1959: Philippines (115 kt)
• 21 December 1959: Vietnam (60 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.

• Philippines
• Palau
• Vietnam
• Cambodia

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.