The Tatarskiy Strait is the northernmost region of the Japan Sea, with an ice-covered area in winter of about 4¿104 km2. This study uses the daily passive microwave images of the region from the special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I), which was launched in 1987, to estimate the production of ice and Japan Sea bottom water. In winter, the prevailing winds in the strait are northerly and cold; these conditions create a region of reduced ice concentration in the northern strait, which leads to an enhanced ice production throughout the season. In addition to these prevailing winds, each winter one or two severe storms generate very strong northerly winds and cold temperatures in the strait. These storms create a large transient polynya in the strait at a time simultaneous with the greatest heat flux out of the open water. Calculation of the ice growth from open water in the northern strait yields about 25 km3 of ice per season, of which severe storms provide about 25%. The total ice production is sufficient to form about 5--12¿102 km3 of the Japan Sea bottom water, which is about 50--100% of the renewal rate required from 14C data. Because the oxygen bottom layer thickness decreased between 1969 and 1984, the study also investigates the frequency of the severe storms in the northern strait during 1966--1990 and finds that these storms are about 3 times as frequent at the bebinning of this period than at the end. This suggests the storms may play a role in the generation of the Japan Sea bottom water. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1992