Typhoon Tip: The Largest Tropical Cyclone Ever Recorded Hit The West Pacific In 1979

Typhoon Tip was the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever documented. In October 1979, it tore through the western Pacific Ocean, with a swirling mass of wind and water vapor that was nearly half the size of the continental US. Imagine half the country swallowed by a single spiraling engine of wind and water. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The seeds of Typhoon Tip were sown the month before. September 1979 was unusually active in the West Pacific, with a string of tropical disturbances lined up from the Philippines to the Marshall Islands. Three of them would grow into typhoons by early October. One in particular, a modest circulation near the Micronesian island of Pohnpei, was destined to become a monster.