Super Typhoon Nancy, also known as the 2nd Muroto Typhoon , was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone of the 1961 Pacific typhoon season and one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record. The system possibly had the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, with 345 km/h (215 mph) winds, tied with Hurricane Patricia of 2015. Nancy caused extensive damage, as well as at least 202 deaths and nearly 5,000 injuries in Japan and elsewhere, in September 1961.
A radar image of Nancy
Hurricane Patricia was the most powerful tropical cyclone on record worldwide in terms of maximum sustained winds and the second-most intense on record worldwide in terms of pressure, with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 872 mbar, behind Typhoon Tip's 870 mbar. Originating from a sprawling disturbance near the Gulf of Tehuantepec, south of Mexico, in mid-October 2015, Patricia was first classified a tropical depression on October 20. Initial development was slow, with only modest strengthening within the first day of its classification. The system later became a tropical storm and was named Patricia, the twenty-fourth named storm of the annual hurricane season. Exceptionally favorable environmental conditions fueled explosive intensification on October 22. A well-defined eye developed within an intense central dense overcast and Patricia grew from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just 24 hours—a near-record pace. On October 23, the hurricane achieved its record peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 215 mph (345 km/h). This made it the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Western Hemisphere and the strongest globally in terms of one-minute maximum sustained winds.
Patricia shortly after its record peak intensity on October 23, while approaching Western Mexico.
Infrared satellite image of Hurricane Patricia at record peak intensity captured by GOES-13/15
President Enrique Peña Nieto meets with cabinet members to discuss Hurricane Patricia on October 23
Evacuation from hotel Riu Vallarta on the morning before Hurricane Patricia made landfall