hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

1978 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 24 storms · 18 Jan 1978–5 Nov 1978

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY66.6
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1978 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 24 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESCANADAMEXICOCUBABRAZILAFRICAEUROPECHINAJAPANINDIAGulf of MexicoAtlantic OceanPacific OceanArabian SeaBay of BengalUnnamed: 18 Jan–23 Jan, no US-agency windUnnamed: 21 Jun–22 Jun, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 10 Jul–12 Jul, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionAmelia: 30 Jul–1 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormBess: 5 Aug–8 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 7 Aug–11 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionCora: 7 Aug–12 Aug, peak 80 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 9 Aug–10 Aug, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionDebra: 26 Aug–29 Aug, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormElla: 30 Aug–5 Sep, peak 120 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 30 Aug–1 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 3 Sep–11 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionFlossie: 4 Sep–15 Sep, peak 85 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 8 Sep–10 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionHope: 17 Sep–21 Sep, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormGreta:Olivia: 13 Sep–23 Sep, peak 115 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 18 Sep–29 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 21 Sep–23 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionIrma: 4 Oct–5 Oct, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormJuliet: 7 Oct–11 Oct, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 13 Oct–17 Oct, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 26 Oct–29 Oct, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionKendra: 28 Oct–1 Nov, peak 70 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 3 Nov–5 Nov, peak 25 kt, Tropical depression

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1978 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,160
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—180
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—960
Amelia–45Tropical storm1005250
Bess–45Tropical storm1005520
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—1,850
Cora–80Cat 19802,000
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—180
Debra–50Tropical storm1000870
Ella–120Cat 49562,460
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—270
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—2,640
Flossie–85Cat 29764,390
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—280
Greta:Olivia–115Cat 49472,270
Hope–55Tropical storm9873,770
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—3,080
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—410
Irma–45Tropical storm1001750
Juliet–45Tropical storm10061,300
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—970
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—720
Kendra–70Cat 19902,880
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—490

24 storms with an IBTrACS 1978 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 18 Jan 1978, last 5 Nov 1978.

Tropical storms12

Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 34 kt or more

Hurricanes5

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)2

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 50

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormElla

120 kt · 138 mph / 222 km/h

Lowest pressure947 hPa

Greta:Olivia, 18 Sept 1978

Longest track record12.3 days

Flossie, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind1

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1978 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1978 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 5 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 12 tropical storms, with 2 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1978 Atlantic hurricane season?

Ella, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 120 kt (Category 4) on 4 Sept 1978, 12:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 956 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1978?

None. No storm in the 1978 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.

When did the 1978 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 18 Jan 1978 and the last on 5 Nov 1978, from 24 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1978 Atlantic hurricane season?

Cora, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 8 Aug 1978, 18:00 UTC.

METHODOLOGY

Data sources and limitations

The map and totals are generated from NOAA’s IBTrACS v04r01 archive. A storm belongs to this page when the archive lists it in the North Atlantic basin for the 1978 season, so a December storm whose track ends in January stays with its season. Storms that cross between basins appear on the page of their archive basin only.

Counts use US-agency one-minute winds during the tropical stage: 34 kt for a tropical storm, 64 kt for hurricane strength and 96 kt for major intensity, on the Saffir–Simpson scale in every basin. Local agencies classify storms differently, and official season summaries can differ from the archive. Accumulated cyclone energy sums squared winds at six-hourly synoptic times, counting observations in the calendar year. Storms with no US-agency wind are mapped but cannot enter the counts.

The map frame is the same for every North Atlantic season, so a track that leaves it is cut at the edge. Lines show each storm’s center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Coastlines use Natural Earth’s 1:10m land data.

Archive retrieved

NOAA IBTrACS archive · Field documentation

Sources & methodology