&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Typhoon_Opal_surface_analysis_13_December_1964.png) Typhoon Opal's surface analysis on December 13, 1964. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 9, 1964 |
| Dissipated | December 16, 1964 |
| Unknown-strength storm | |
| 10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
| Lowest pressure | 900 hPa (mbar); 26.58 inHg |
| Category 5-equivalent super typhoon | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 315 km/h (195 mph) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 26 |
| Damage | >$25 million (1964 USD) |
| Areas affected | Caroline Islands, Chuuk, Philippines |
Part of the 1964 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Opal, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Naning, was an intense Category 5-equivalent typhoon in the extremely active 1964 Pacific typhoon season. Opal also had the largest wind circulation of any typhoon in 1964, with a total span of 2,100 km (1,300 mi).[1]: 47 Data from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) indicated that Opal's winds were the highest of any typhoon in 1964. As the thirty-ninth named storm and the twenty-sixth typhoon of the season, it originated from a tropical wave in early December, with its wind circulation developing by December 8. This system quickly organized, gaining the name Opal, and reaching typhoon status on December 9. Opal moved through Yap and Palau for two days. On that last day, Opal reached its peak intensity with one-minute sustained winds of 315 km/h (196 mph) and a central pressure of 895 hPa (26.43 inHg). On December 14, Opal passed north of some Filipino islands and its winds began to lose intensity. Later that day, Opal made landfall in the Philippines with one-minute sustained winds of 140 km/h (87 mph). Opal weakened further as it moved over Luzon. Its center then executed a small counterclockwise loop over western Luzon before curving north and briefly emerging into Lingayen Gulf as a tropical storm. Opal crossed northwestern Luzon and the Babuyan Islands on December 16 and later became extratropical near Okinawa on December 17; this phase of Opal's development dissipated the next day.