1985 Pacific typhoon season | |
---|---|
Seasonal boundaries | |
First system formed | January 4, 1985 |
Last system dissipated | December 23, 1985 |
Strongest storm | |
Name | Dot |
• Maximum winds | 220 km/h (140 mph) (10-minute sustained) |
• Lowest pressure | 895 hPa (mbar) |
Seasonal statistics | |
Total depressions | 57 |
Total storms | 28 |
Typhoons | 15 |
Super typhoons | 1 (unofficial) |
Total fatalities | 1,355 |
Total damage | > $243.1 million (1985 USD) |
Related articles | |
The 1985 Pacific typhoon season was a slightly above average season in terms of named storms, though most storms were weak and short-lived. The season had 28 named storms, 15 typhoons and 1 super typhoon. It ran year-round, thus ending the two-season run which began in 1983 that only had tropical cyclones forming between June and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. A total of 57 tropical depressions formed this year, of which only 28 became tropical storms and were assigned a name by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. This made the season well above average. Additionally, tropical depressions that enter or form in the Philippine area of responsibility were assigned a name by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA. This can often result in the same storm having two names. This year, a total of 17 storms were named this way.
The strongest cyclone of the season, Dot, reached category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson scale to the east of the Philippines. Typhoon Cecil was the deadliest storm of the season, accounting for nearly half of the deaths from western Pacific tropical cyclones in 1985. The season featured Odessa, Pat, and Ruby, a rare example of a tertiary Fujiwhara interaction.