Typhoon Patsy
Typhoon Patsy, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yoling, was the twenty-seventh named storm, twelfth typhoon, and seventh super typhoon of the 1970 Pacific typhoon season.
On November 14, 1970, a tropical disturbance organized sufficiently to be designated a tropical depression. A steady intensification carried Tropical Storm Patsy's windspeeds up to 155 mph and a minimum pressure of 918 mbar. It made landfall in Luzon with sustained winds of 130 mph on November 19. After emerging in the South China Sea, Patsy remained at tropical storm strength. It struck Vietnam during the Vietnam War as a weak tropical storm on November 22. The 8-day-old cyclone dissipated shortly after its final landfall.
US$80 million in damage was reported to have been caused by Patsy, though the total was likely higher. Deaths were officially reported to be 241, but an estimated 30 people unofficially died in Vietnam, raising the toll to 271+. An additional 351 people were reported missing. The total deaths and damage will likely never be known, as the Vietnam War was raging at the same time.
Meteorological history
A tropical disturbance was spotted south-southeast of Wake Island on November 10 close to the International Date Line and moved west. Warm waters and weakened shear allowed the storm to organize into Tropical Depression 27W on November 14 near the Marianas Islands. A strong ridge to its north forced it westward, where it upgraded to tropical storm status later on November 14, receiving the name Patsy.When Patsy was just barely above the threshold of tropical storm-strength, it slowed and passed just north of Saipan. Patsy continued to steadily intensify, reaching typhoon strength on November 16, 200 miles northwest of Guam. The typhoon peaked at 155 mph on November 18.
Its inflow became disrupted by the Philippines to its west, and Patsy hit Luzon on November 19 with winds of 130 mph, making it the 3rd strong typhoon to strike the island since September and made a direct hit over the Greater Manila area, catching many offguard. After crossing the Philippines and weakening to a Category 2, Patsy traversed the South China Sea, where cooler waters kept the system from strengthening. This caused the cyclone to continue a weakening trend until it was downgraded to a tropical storm on November 20. On November 22, Patsy struck Vietnam as a 45 mph tropical storm, and dissipated soon after.