View source for Typhoon Nancy (1961)

{{Short description|Category 5 Pacific typhoon}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox weather event
| name = Typhoon Nancy<br /><small>2nd Muroto Typhoon</small>
| image = Super_Typhoon_Nancy_61.JPG
| caption = A radar image of Nancy
| formed = September 7, 1961
| extratropical = September 16, 1961
| dissipated = September 22, 1961
}}{{Infobox weather event/JMA
| winds = 
| pressure = 890
| category = VITY
}}{{Infobox weather event/JTWC
| winds = 185
| pressure = 882
| basin = WPac
}}{{Infobox weather event/Effects
| year = 1961
| fatalities = 202 confirmed
| missing = 8
| damage = 500000000
| areas = [[Guam]], [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryūkyū Islands]], [[Japan]]
| refs = 
}}{{Infobox weather event/Footer
| season = [[1961 Pacific typhoon season]]
}}

'''Super Typhoon Nancy''', also known as the {{nihongo|'''2nd Muroto Typhoon'''|第二室戸台風|Daini-muroto Taifū}}, was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone of the [[1961 Pacific typhoon season]] and one of [[List of the most intense tropical cyclones|the most intense tropical cyclones]] on record. The system possibly had the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, with {{convert|345|km/h|mph|round=5|abbr=on}} winds, tied with [[Hurricane Patricia]] of 2015. Nancy caused extensive damage, as well as at least 202 deaths and nearly 5,000 injuries in [[Japan]] and elsewhere, in September 1961.

==Meteorological history==
{{storm path|Nancy 1961 path.png|colors = new|size=}}
A tropical depression formed from a [[low-pressure area]] near [[Kwajalein Atoll]] on September 7. It strengthened rapidly; by the time position fixes could be taken, Nancy was nearly a super typhoon, on September 8. Moving gradually westward, Nancy [[rapid intensification|explosively deepened]] and reached wind speeds equivalent to a Category&nbsp;5 super typhoon ([[Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale]]) on September 9.<ref name="Unisys Data">{{cite web |title=Unisys Tracking Data |url=http://www.weather.unisys.com/hurricane/w_pacific/1961/18/track.dat |access-date=March 7, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527204948/http://www.weather.unisys.com/hurricane/w_pacific/1961/18/track.dat |archive-date=May 27, 2011}}</ref> It would maintain that intensity for the next several days.

Shortly after reaching peak intensity, Nancy approached the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryūkyū Islands]] and began turning. It passed near [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]] and over [[Naze, Kagoshima|Naze]]. The [[ridge (meteorology)|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 [[Cape Muroto]]. Nancy made a second landfall on [[Honshū]] near [[Osaka]]. The [[tropical cyclone|typhoon]] rapidly traveled up the length of the island as it continued accelerating, eventually reaching a forward speed of {{convert|65|mph|km/h kn|abbr=on}}.<ref name=JTWC>{{cite web |title=JTWC Nancy Report |url=http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/atcr/1961atcr/pdf/wnp/52.pdf |access-date=March 7, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607040559/http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/atcr/1961atcr/pdf/wnp/52.pdf |archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Typhoon List View">{{cite web |title=Digital Typhoon: Typhoon List |url=http://agora.ex.nii.ac.jp/cgi-bin/dt/search_name2.pl?name=NANCY%&lang=en |website=Kitamoto Laboratory, National Institute of Informatics |access-date=March 7, 2006}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Impact==
{{Significant Typhoons with Special Names|align=right}}
Although there is no damage total known for Nancy, damage was "phenomenal" according to the JMA. There were at least 194 deaths and 8 people unaccounted for, according to the Japanese government.<ref name="JTWC" />

===Guam===
On [[Guam]], over half of all crops were destroyed by heavy winds and rain. A total of $40,000 (1961 [[United States dollar|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.<ref name=JTWC/>

=== Ryukyu Islands ===
On [[Okinawa Islands|Okinawa]], low-lying areas experienced heavy flooding, which did significant damage to agriculture and structures.<ref name=JTWC/>

===Japan===
In Japan, according to Japan [[Fire and Disaster Management Agency]] official confirmed report, 194 people were killed, 8 were missing, and 4,972 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.<ref name=JTWC/>

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 (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]]'' reported in late September 1961 that over 1,056 ships and fishing vessels were sunk or blown ashore, and that many more were damaged.<ref name=JTWC/>

Floodwaters washed away 566 [[bridge (structure)|bridges]] and caused 1146 [[landslide]]s. Roads were destroyed at a total of 2,053 locations.<ref name=JTWC/> Damages in [[Osaka]] amounted to {{US$|0.5|link=yes}}{{nbsp}}billion.<ref>{{cite book |last=Longshore |first=David |title=Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones |page=233}}</ref>

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.<ref name=JTWC/>

Due to Nancy's damage and death toll, the [[Japan Meteorological Agency]] named Nancy the "Second [[1934 Muroto typhoon|Muroto Typhoon]]". Nancy is one of only ten typhoons to receive special names in Japan.

==Records==
{{Most intense Pacific typhoons|align=right}}
A reconnaissance aircraft flying into the typhoon near its peak intensity on September 12 determined Nancy's one-minute sustained winds to be {{convert|185|kn|mph km/h}}. If these values are reliable, they would be the highest wind speeds ever measured in a tropical cyclone.<ref name=NOAAFAQ1>{{cite web |title=FAQ: Which is the most intense tropical cyclone on record? |author=Landsea, Chris |url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E1.html |website=NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory |access-date=March 7, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206200600/http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E1.html |archive-date=December 6, 2010}}</ref> 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, which may actually be closer to {{convert|153|kn|km/h mph|round=5}}.<ref name=NOAAFAQ1/> In 2016, reanalysis of [[Hurricane Patricia]] noted that the storm had the same sustained winds as Nancy, the highest on record in the [[Western Hemisphere]].<ref name="patriciapressrelease">{{cite press release|url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/news/20160204_pa_PatriciaTCRAnnouncement.pdf|title=Tropical Cyclone Report for 2015's Hurricane Patricia Released|author=Feltgen, Dennis|publisher=[[National Hurricane Center]]|access-date=February 4, 2016|date=February 4, 2016}}</ref>

Although the [[Saffir–Simpson scale|Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale]] (SSHWS) did not exist at the time, Nancy would have been a Category&nbsp;5 equivalent for a total of five and a half days (or 132 hours), assuming the wind speed data is reliable. If so, this is the record for the [[Northern Hemisphere]] and more than a day longer than the runner-up system, 1962's [[Typhoon Karen]].<ref name=NOAAFAQ2>{{cite web |title=FAQ: What hurricanes have been at Category Five status the longest? |author=Dorst, Neal |url=https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E8.html |website=NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory |access-date=March 7, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527150732/http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E8.html |archive-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Tropical cyclones}}
*[[List of tropical cyclone records]]
* [[Tropical Storm Nancy (disambiguation)|Other storms of the same name]]
* [[1934 Muroto typhoon]] - The most intense landfalling typhoon in Japanese history, with a peak low pressure of {{convert|911.9|hPa|inHg|abbr=on}}
* [[Typhoon Vera (1959)]] - The strongest storm to ever impact Japan, with maximum sustained wind speeds of {{convert|160|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} upon landfall - Comparable to a Category 5-equivalent super typhoon
* [[Typhoon Mireille (1991)]] - Similar track, also very costly and destructive upon landfall
* [[Typhoon Neoguri (2014)]] - Similar track, though much weaker on landfall
* [[Hurricane Patricia (2015)]] - Ties Typhoon Nancy for one-minute maximum sustained winds of {{convert|215|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.
* [[Typhoon Jebi (2018)]] - Similar track, also caused massive damage in Japan
* [[Typhoon Hagibis (2019)]] - Another deadly and extremely destructive storm that became the costliest [[typhoon]] on record

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Typhoon Nancy (1961)}}
* [http://agora.ex.nii.ac.jp/digital-typhoon/summary/wnp/s/196118.html.en JMA General Information] of Typhoon Nancy (6118) from Digital Typhoon
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110607040559/http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/atcr/1961atcr/pdf/wnp/52.pdf JTWC Report] of Typhoon Nancy
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060312104623/http://www.weather.unisys.com/hurricane/w_pacific/1961/18/track.gif Storm Path] of Typhoon Nancy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nancy (1961)}}
[[Category:1961 Pacific typhoon season]]
[[Category:Typhoons in Guam]]
[[Category:Typhoons in Japan]]
[[Category:1961 in Japan|Typhoon Nancy]]