1994 Pacific typhoon season

1994 Pacific typhoon season
Season summary map
Seasonal boundaries
First system formedJanuary 4, 1994
Last system dissipatedDecember 27, 1994
Strongest storm
NameMelissa & Seth
 • Maximum winds205 km/h (125 mph)
(10-minute sustained)
 • Lowest pressure910 hPa (mbar)
Seasonal statistics
Total depressions52
Total storms36
Typhoons20
Super typhoons6 (unofficial)
Total fatalities4,724 total
Total damage$8.14 billion (1994 USD)
Related articles
Pacific typhoon seasons
1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996

The 1994 Pacific typhoon season was an extremely active season in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation in the Western North Pacific, being the second most active season in the basin, only behind 1964. With a total of 36 tropical storms, where 20 of them reached typhoon strength and 6 further strengthening into super typhoons, during the course of the season, much like the Pacific hurricane season. The season had no official bounds and it ran year-round in 1994, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November. Tropical storms that formed west of the date line were assigned a name by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The World Meteorological Organization-designated Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre for tropical cyclones for the region is the Japan Meteorological Agency. Tropical depressions that entered or formed in the Philippine area of responsibility were assigned a name by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA. This can result in some storms having two names.

The season started on January 4 with the formation of Tropical Depression 01W to the west of Yap, with the first tropical storm developing a few months later on April 1, and ended near the end of the year when Tropical Storm Bobbie dissipated in the open Pacific on December 25. During the season, 25 systems either threatened land or made landfall, killing over 2,400 people. The strongest storm of the season was Super Typhoon Doug, which affected Taiwan, South Korea and mainland China, while the deadliest storm was Super Typhoon Fred, which killed over 1,000 people in China. Earlier in the season, the combined effects of two tropical storms —Russ and Sharon —caused flooding in China that killed over 1,400. The season also saw two storms, Li and John, cross into the Western North Pacific from the east, while one storm, Tropical Storm Yuri, formed from a precursor low that had similarly crossed the International Date Line. This season, PAGASA named 25 systems and had to use an auxiliary list to name some of them after running out of names from their standard list. Of the 25, three systems were not tracked by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.