text: typhoon tip typhoon tip , known in the philippines as typhoon warling , was the largest and most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded . the nineteenth storm and twelfth typhoon of the 1979 pacific typhoon season , tip developed out of a disturbance from the monsoon trough on october 4 near pohnpei . initially , a tropical storm to the northwest hindered the development and motion of tip , though after it tracked farther north tip was able to intensify . after passing guam , tip rapidly intensified and reached peak winds of 305 km / h ( 190 mph ) and a worldwide record - low sea - level pressure of 870 mbar ( 870 . 0 hpa ; 25 . 69 inhg ) on october 12 . at its peak strength , it was also the largest tropical cyclone on record with a wind diameter of 2 , 220 km ( 1 , 380 mi ) . tip slowly weakened as it continued west - northwestward and later turned to the northeast in response to an approaching trough . the typhoon made landfall in southern japan on october 19 , and became an extratropical cyclone shortly thereafter . u.s. air force aircraft flew 60 weather reconnaissance missions into the typhoon , making tip one of the most closely observed tropical cyclones . rainfall from tip indirectly led to a fire that killed 13 marines and injured 68 at combined arms training center , camp fuji in the shizuoka prefecture of japan . elsewhere in the country , the typhoon caused widespread flooding and 42 deaths ; offshore shipwrecks left 44 people killed or missing . meteorological history three circulations developed within the monsoon trough that extended from the philippines to the marshall islands in october 1979 . a disturbance to the southwest of guam developed into tropical storm roger on october 3 , and later on the same day the tropical disturbance which would later become typhoon tip formed south of pohnpei . strong flow from across the equator was drawn into the roger 's wind circulation , initially preventing significant development of the precursor disturbance to tip . despite the unfavorable air pattern , the disturbance gradually organized as it moved westward . due to the large - scale circulation pattern into tropical storm roger , it moved erratically and slowly executed a cyclonic loop to the southeast of chuuk . a reconnaissance aircraft flight into the system late on october 4 confirmed the existence of a closed low - level circulation , and early on october 5 the joint typhoon warning center ( jtwc ) issued its first warning on tropical depression twenty - three . while executing a loop near chuuk , the tropical depression intensified into tropical storm tip , though the storm failed to organize significantly due to the influence of tropical storm roger . reconnaissance aircraft provided the track of the surface circulation , since satellite imagery estimated the center was located about 60 km ( 37 mi ) from its true position . after drifting erratically for several days , tip began a steady northwest motion on october 8 . by that time , tropical storm roger had become an extratropical cyclone , resulting in the southerly flow to be entrained into tip . an area of a tropical upper tropospheric trough moved to the north of guam at the time , providing an excellent outflow channel north of tip . initially , the storm was predicted to continue northwestward and make landfall on guam , though it turned to the west early on october 9 , passing about 45 km ( 28 mi ) south of the island . later that day , tip intensified to attain typhoon status . owing to very favorable conditions for development , typhoon tip rapidly intensified over the open waters of the western pacific ocean . late on october 10 , the typhoon attained wind speeds equal to category 4 strength on the saffir – simpson hurricane scale , and it became a super typhoon the next day . the central pressure dropped by 92 mbar ( 92 . 0 hpa ; 2 . 72 inhg ) from october 9 to 11 , during which the circulation pattern of typhoon tip expanded to a record diameter of 2 , 220 km ( 1 , 380 mi ) . the typhoon continued to intensify further , and early on october 12 reconnaissance aircraft recorded a worldwide record - low pressure of 870 mbar ( 870 . 0 hpa ; 25 . 69 inhg ) with winds of 305 km / h ( 190 mph ) , when tip was located about 840 km ( 520 mi ) west - northwest of guam . in its best track , the japan meteorological agency listed tip as peaking with 10 - minute sustained winds of 160 mph ( 260 km / h ) . at the time of its peak strength , its eye was 15 km ( 9 . 3 mi ) wide . tip crossed the 135th meridian east on the afternoon of october 13 , prompting the philippine weather bureau to issue warnings on typhoon tip , assigning it the local name warling . after peaking intensity , tip weakened to 230 km / h ( 140 mph ) and remained at that intensity for several days as it continued west - northwestward . for five days after its peak strength , the average radius of winds stronger than 55 km / h ( 34 mph ) extended over 1 , 100 km ( 684 mi ) . on october 17 , tip began to weaken steadily and decrease in size , recurving northeastward under the influence of a mid - level trough the next day . after passing about 65 km ( 40 mi ) east of okinawa , the typhoon accelerated to 75 km / h ( 47 mph ) . tip made landfall on the japanese island of honshū with winds of about 130 km / h ( 81 mph ) on october 19 . it continued rapidly northeastward through the country and became an extratropical cyclone over northern honshū a few hours after moving ashore . the extratropical remnant of tip proceeded northeastward and gradually weakened , crossing the international date line on october 22 . it was last observed near the aleutian islands of alaska . impact the typhoon produced heavy rainfall early in its lifetime while passing near guam , including a total of 23 . 1 cm ( 9 . 09 in ) at andersen air force base . the outer rainbands of the large circulation of tip produced moderate rainfall in the mountainous regions of the philippine island of luzon . heavy rainfall from the typhoon breached a flood - retaining wall at camp fuji , a training facility for the united states marine corps near yokosuka . marines inside the camp weathered the storm inside huts situated at the base of a hill which housed a fuel farm . the breach led to hoses being dislodged from two rubber storage bladders , releasing large quantities of fuel . the fuel flowed down the hill and was ignited by a heater used to warm one of the huts . the resultant fire killed 13 marines , injured 68 , and caused moderate damage to the facility . the facility 's barracks were destroyed , along with fifteen huts and several other structures . the barracks were rebuilt , and a memorial was established for those who lost their lives in the fire . during recurvature , typhoon tip passed about 65 km ( 40 mi ) east of okinawa . sustained winds reached 72 km / h ( 44 mph ) , with gusts to 112 km / h ( 69 mph ) . sustained wind velocities in japan are not known , though they were estimated at minimal typhoon strength . the passage of the typhoon through the region resulted in millions of dollars in damage to the agricultural and fishing industries of the country . eight ships were grounded or sunk by tip , leaving 44 fishermen dead or unaccounted for . a chinese freighter broke in half as a result of the typhoon , though its crew of 46 were rescued . the rainfall led to over 600 mudslides throughout the mountainous regions of japan and flooded more than 22 , 000 homes ; 42 people died throughout the country , with another 71 missing and 283 injured . river embankments broke in 70 places , destroying 27 bridges , while about 105 dikes were destroyed . following the storm , at least 11 , 000 people were left homeless . tip destroyed apple , rice , peach and other crops . five ships sank in heavy seas off the coast and 50 - story buildings swayed in the capital , tokyo . transportation in the country was disrupted ; 200 trains and 160 domestic flights were canceled . tip was described as the most severe storm to strike japan in 13 years . records and meteorological statistics typhoon tip was the largest tropical cyclone on record , with a diameter of 1 , 380 mi ( 2 , 220 km ) — almost double the previous record of 700 mi ( 1 , 130 km ) set by typhoon marge in august 1951 . at its largest , tip was nearly half the size of the contiguous united states . the temperature inside the eye of typhoon tip at peak intensity was 30 ° c ( 86 ° f ) and described as exceptionally high . with 10 - minute sustained winds of 160 mph ( 260 km / h ) , typhoon tip is the strongest cyclone in the complete tropical cyclone listing by the japan meteorological agency . the typhoon was also the most intense tropical cyclone on record , with a pressure of 870 mbar ( 25 . 69 inhg ) , 6 mbar ( 0 . 18 inhg ) lower than the previous record set by super typhoon june in 1975 . the records set by tip still technically stand , though with the end of routine reconnaissance aircraft flights in the western pacific ocean in august 1987 , modern researchers have questioned whether tip indeed remains the strongest . after a detailed study , three researchers determined that two typhoons , angela in 1995 and gay in 1992 , registered higher dvorak numbers than tip , and concluded that one or both of the two may have therefore been more intense . other recent storms may have also been deeper than tip at its peak ; for instance , satellite - derived intensity estimates for typhoon haiyan of 2013 indicated that its core pressure may have been as low as 858 mbar ( 25 . 34 inhg ) . due to the dearth of direct observations into these cyclones , conclusive data are lacking . also , the peak intensity of hurricane patricia in 2015 was estimated to be a pressure of 872 mbar ( 25 . 75 inhg ) and winds of 215 mph ( 345 km / h ) , officially making it the second most intense tropical cyclone in world history , and the strongest by wind speed . however , in the nhc 's report on patricia , it was noted that patricia may have , in fact , reached a lower pressure than tip for a brief period of time . if confirmed , this would make patricia the most intense tropical cyclone on record . despite the typhoon 's intensity and damage , the name tip was not retired and was reused in 1983 , 1986 , and 1989 .