Storm history › West Pacific › 1971 season
Typhoon Bess (1971)
Bess was a Category 5 typhoon of the 1971 West Pacific season. It was tracked from September 15, 1971 to September 26, 1971, about 12 days, and covered 4,328 miles.
At its peak it had winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a lowest pressure of 905 mb.
Its closest pass to a major city was 1 miles from Banqiao, Taiwan.
- Peak wind
- 160 mph
- Lowest pressure
- 905 mb
- Strongest
- Category 5 typhoon
- Duration
- 12 days
- Track length
- 4,328 mi
- Energy (ACE)
- 28.4
DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5
Closest pass to major cities
| City | Closest pass |
|---|---|
| Banqiao, Taiwan | 1 mi (2 km) |
| Goyang-si, South Korea | 1 mi (2 km) |
| New Taipei City, Taiwan | 2 mi (3 km) |
| Yancheng, China | 3 mi (4 km) |
| Taipei, Taiwan | 3 mi (5 km) |
| Yangzhou, China | 3 mi (5 km) |
| Fuzhou, China | 3 mi (5 km) |
How it compares
- Peak winds: 131st highest of 2,271 West Pacific storms on record, tied with Typhoon Kong-Rey (2024), Typhoon Man-Yi (2024), Typhoon Saola (2023) and 79 more.
- Lowest pressure: 92nd lowest of 2,047 West Pacific storms with a recorded pressure, tied with Typhoon Ivan (1997), Typhoon Joan (1997), Typhoon Koryn (1993) and 12 more.
- Energy: 8% of the 1971 West Pacific season's ACE.