page_title: Typhoon Mary (1960)
section_title: Meteorological history
hierarchical_section_title: Typhoon Mary (1960) / Meteorological history
caption_attribution_description: English: Track map of Typhoon Mary of the 1960 Pacific typhoon season. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm, according to the legend below. Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale Tropical depression≤38 mph≤62 km/h Category 3111–129 mph178–208 km/h Tropical storm39–73 mph63–118 km/h Category 4130–156 mph209–251 km/h Category 174–95 mph119–153 km/h Category 5≥157 mph≥252 km/h Category 296–110 mph154–177 km/h Unknown Storm typeTropical cycloneSubtropical cycloneExtratropical cyclone / Remnant low / Tropical disturbance
context_page_description: Typhoon Mary, also nicknamed "Bloody Mary" by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, was an extremely damaging storm that was part of the 1960 Pacific typhoon season. It began as a circulation in a trough in the South China Sea. A tropical depression formed on June 2, as it was traveling clockwise. It became a tropical storm on the next day, and received the name Mary. It slowly moved across the sea, strengthening to a typhoon. Mary made landfall in Hong Kong on June 8, and moved through Guangdong and Fujian. It reemerged back to the Pacific Ocean, and restrengthened into a typhoon temporarily. It then traveled east, weakening and becoming extratropical on June 12.
  Mary caused a significant amount of damage in Hong Kong and China. It was considered the worst storm to hit Hong Kong since the typhoon in 1937. The storm destroyed weak shacks made by refugees from the mainland, leaving thousands homeless. There were multiple landslides, and most of the infrastructure were damaged. More than 400 small watercraft were either damaged or destroyed. In China, dikes and dams were damaged severely, multiple public buildings collapsed, and destroyed large swaths of farmland.
context_section_description: In early June, a trough extended from Taiwan to the South China Sea, and a small circulation was found at the southwestern part of it. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) designated the system as a tropical depression on June 2, with a pressure reading of 1,000 hectopascals (30 inHg). JTWC reported it had winds of 55 km/h (35 mph) during that time. On the next day at 1200 UTC, JTWC began tracking the storm as a tropical depression. The system was upgraded to a tropical storm at 1800 UTC, with winds of 65 km/h (40 mph), and was given the name Mary by the warning center. By 1800 UTC of June 4, Mary slowly began turning northward near the Paracel Islands, and had intensified slightly to 75 km/h (45 mph).
  On June 5, JMA recorded Mary's lowest pressure reading at 980 hPa (29 inHg). Two days later, the storm had intensified to 110 km/h (70 mph), and was traveling faster towards Hong Kong. On June 7, at 0600 UTC, Mary quickly strengthened to a typhoon, with winds up to 130 km/h (80 mph). Mary peaked at 0600 UTC on June 8, just offshore of Hong Kong, with winds of 150 km/h (90 mph), and JTWC estimated the pressure was 975 hPa (28.8 inHg). Twelve hours later, the storm made landfall on Hong Kong northwest of Kowloon. Inland, the typhoon slowly weakened to 90 km/h (55 mph) by June 10, back to a tropical storm. The system gained speed as it traveled through Guangdong and Fujian provinces. Mary soon reemerged back to the ocean later than day, began restrengthening, and was found to have 110 km/h (70 mph) winds, recorded by the U.S. Navy. The storm briefly became a typhoon at 1800 UTC, and reconnaissance aircraft recorded winds just above typhoon strength, although the circulation did not have eyewalls. It was downgraded to a tropical storm on June 11 at 1200 UTC.
  Another reconnaissance aircraft flew into Mary again at 2330 UTC, reporting that there was no eyewall in the storm and recorded winds up to 65 km/h (40 mph). Mary continued to weaken until June 12, when JTWC and JMA declared the storm had become extratropical southeast of Tokyo. JMA continued to track the extratropical cyclone until it reached the International Date Line on June 18.
caption: Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
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