Typhoon Karen was the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike the island of Guam, and has been regarded as one of the most destructive events in the island's history. It was first identified as a tropical disturbance on November 6, 1962, well to the southeast of Truk. Over the following two days, the system tracked generally northward and quickly intensified. Karen became a tropical storm late on November 7, and within two days it explosively intensified into a Category 5-equivalent super typhoon on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Turning westward, the typhoon maintained its intensity and struck Guam with winds of on November 11. Once clear of the island, it strengthened slightly and reached its peak intensity on November 13 with winds of and a barometric pressure of 894 mb (hPa; 26.40 inHg). The storm then gradually turned northward as it weakened, brushing the Ryukyu Islands on November 15, before moving east-northeastward over the open waters of the Pacific. Karen continued to weaken and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on November 17 before losing its identity the following day between Alaska and Hawaii.
Karen devastated Guam with wind gusts estimated up to . Ninety-five percent of homes were damaged or destroyed, leaving at least 45,000 people homeless. Communication and utilities were crippled, forcing officials to set up water distribution centers to prevent disease. Total losses on the island amounted to $250 million. Despite the severity of the damage, only 11 people were killed. In the wake of the storm, a massive relief operation evacuated thousands to California, Hawaii, and Wake Island. Thousands more were sheltered in public buildings, and later tent villages, for many months. More than $60 million in relief funds were sent to Guam over the following years to aid in rehabilitation. Though the storm was devastating, it spurred new building codes and a revitalized economy.
Meteorological history
On November 6, 1962, a tropical disturbance was identified over the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles south-southeast of Truk, in the Federated States of Micronesia, by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). Tracking northwestward, the disturbance intensified and was classified as a tropical depression early on November 7. Later that day, the system passed to the east of Truk and turned due north before attaining gale-force winds. Around 18:00 UTC, the JTWC issued their first advisory on Tropical Storm Karen, the 27th named storm of the 1962 season. Several hours later, a reconnaissance mission into the storm revealed a partially closed wide eye. Over the following 30 hours, Karen underwent a period of explosive intensification as its eye became small and increasingly defined. Between 00:00 UTC on November 8 and 03:40 UTC on November 9, Karen's barometric pressure plummeted from , a drop of . At the end of this phase, Karen featured an wide eye and had estimated surface winds of , ranking it as a modern-day Category 5-equivalent super typhoon on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale.
After attaining this initial peak intensity on November 9, Karen weakened somewhat as it gradually curved west-northwestward. By 15:14 UTC, the storm began to undergo an eyewall replacement cycle as a larger secondary eyewall, approximately in diameter, started developing. Although the storm's winds failed to drop significantly, Karen's central pressure rose to during this phase. Accelerating slightly, Karen tracked steadily west-northwestward towards Guam. By November 11, the system had regained a well-defined eye and deepened once more. Between 12:10 and 12:35 UTC on November 11, the wide eye of Karen passed directly over southern Guam. At this time, the storm was estimated to have had winds of , which would have made it the most intense typhoon to strike the island since 1900. However, years of post-storm analyses have indicated that it may have been somewhat weaker when it passed over Guam. At the Weather Bureau station at the north end of Guam, a pressure of was measured. Farther south at Anderson Air Force Base, was recorded. The lowest verified pressure was at the Agana Naval Air Station. Closest to the eye was Naval Magazine where a pressure of was estimated but never verified.