The 1951 Pacific typhoon season was a generally average season with multiple tropical cyclones striking the Philippines. With the exception of January, each month saw at least one tropical system develop; October was the most active month with four tropical cyclones forming. Overall, there were 31 tropical depressions, of which 25 became tropical storms; of those, there were 16 typhoons.
The season began with the formation of a short-lived unnamed tropical storm on February 19, well east of the Philippines; Typhoon Georgia became the season's first named storm and typhoon after first developing in the open Pacific on March 20. In April, Typhoon Iris developed before intensifying into a super typhoon the following month; Iris was the first recorded instance of a Category 5-equivalent typhoon in the western Pacific. The final typhoon and storm of the year was Typhoon Babs, which remained at sea before dissipating on December 17.
The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Storms that form east of the date line and north of the equator are called hurricanes; see 1951 Pacific hurricane season. At the time, tropical storms that formed within this region of the western Pacific were named and identified by the Fleet Weather Center in Guam. However, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), which was established five years later, identified four additional tropical cyclones during the season not tracked by the Fleet Weather Center; these analyzed systems did not receive names.
Systems
Typhoon Georgia
A persistent low-pressure area south of Kusaie was first noted on March 14. The origins of the cyclonic circulation remain disputed, with one hypothesis indicating initial development south of Nauru and another suggesting that the system originated from a minor tropical wave east of the Marshall Islands. Nonetheless, southeasterly flow associated with an unusually strong high pressure area positioned over northeastern Australia aided the tropical cyclogenesis of the disturbance, and at 1200 UTC on March 18, the circulation developed into a tropical depression. In its initial stages, the disturbance steadily intensified as it moved in a northeasterly direction, attaining tropical storm strength by 1800 UTC the next day. At 0600 UTC on March 20, Georgia reached typhoon intensity; however, the Guam Fleet Warning Center only issued its first typhoon bulletin on the tropical cyclone at 0600 UTC the following day, by which time Georgia already had winds of , equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. At the same time, the typhoon began to develop an eye. Subsequently, Georgia attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of , equivalent to a modern-day Category 4 hurricane. Afterwards, the intense typhoon began to quickly lose organization and strength, and degenerated into a remnant low after 0600 UTC on March 25, coinciding with the last typhoon bulletin issued by the Guam Fleet Warning Center. The remnants tracked westward before dissipating after 0600 UTC on March 28.
As a developing tropical system, the precursor to Georgia and resultant tropical depression moved near Kusaie, producing a peak rainfall total of over a three-day period and gusts in excess of . On March 20, Georgia passed to the south of Kwajalein. As such, the island's station observed "strong surface winds" and of rain in an eighteen-hour period. As a weakening tropical cyclone, Georgia threatened Wake Island and Eniwetok Atoll; the latter of which was expected to be the site of American nuclear testing operations. Though both islands were warned of by the Guam Fleet Weather Center, however, the typhoon had weakened considerably before reaching them, and effects remained marginal. Nonetheless, of rain was reported on a weather station in Eniwetok. The nuclear testing operation, termed Operation George, remained unaffected, though the first test was detonated on July 4, well after Georgia dissipated.