hurricanesmapped

EASTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP

1978 Pacific hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 21 storms · 30 May 1978–24 Oct 1978

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY204.4
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1978 Pacific hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 21 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESMEXICOCUBACHINAJAPANPHILIPPINESINDIAGulf of MexicoAtlantic OceanPacific OceanPhilippine SeaArabian SeaBay of BengalAletta: 30 May–31 May, peak 65 kt, Category 1Bud: 17 Jun–20 Jun, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormCarlotta: 17 Jun–25 Jun, peak 115 kt, Category 4Daniel: 26 Jun–3 Jul, peak 100 kt, Category 3Unnamed: 30 Jun–2 Jul, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionEmilia: 6 Jul–10 Jul, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormFico: 9 Jul–30 Jul, peak 120 kt, Category 4Gilma: 13 Jul–20 Jul, peak 100 kt, Category 3Hector: 22 Jul–29 Jul, peak 120 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 6 Aug–9 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionIva: 11 Aug–15 Aug, peak 65 kt, Category 1John: 18 Aug–31 Aug, peak 90 kt, Category 2Kristy: 18 Aug–28 Aug, peak 90 kt, Category 2Lane: 19 Aug–24 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormMiriam: 23 Aug–2 Sep, peak 80 kt, Category 1Norman: 30 Aug–6 Sep, peak 120 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 8 Sep–8 Sep, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionPaul: 23 Sep–26 Sep, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormRosa: 2 Oct–7 Oct, peak 75 kt, Category 1Susan: 18 Oct–24 Oct, peak 115 kt, Category 4Sergio: 18 Oct–20 Oct, peak 35 kt, Tropical storm

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1978 Pacific hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Aletta–65Cat 1—290
Bud–50Tropical storm—860
Carlotta–115Cat 4—1,880
Daniel–100Cat 3—2,240
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—480
Emilia–55Tropical storm—960
Fico–120Cat 4—5,280
Gilma–100Cat 3—1,900
Hector–120Cat 4—1,850
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—1,370
Iva–65Cat 1—750
John–90Cat 2—3,020
Kristy–90Cat 2—2,540
Lane–45Tropical storm—1,370
Miriam–80Cat 1—3,250
Norman–120Cat 4—2,120
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—190
Paul–40Tropical storm—1,030
Rosa–75Cat 1—830
Susan–115Cat 4—970
Sergio–35Tropical storm—760

21 storms with an IBTrACS 1978 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 30 May 1978, last 24 Oct 1978.

Tropical storms18

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

Hurricanes13

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)7

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 50

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormFico

120 kt · 138 mph / 222 km/h

Lowest pressureNot recorded

No tropical-stage pressure in the archive

Longest track record21.5 days

Fico, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind0

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1978 season in brief

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

The archive records 13 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 18 tropical storms, with 7 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

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

Fico, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 120 kt (Category 4) on 12 Jul 1978, 12:00 UTC.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1978?

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

When did the 1978 Pacific hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 30 May 1978 and the last on 24 Oct 1978, from 21 tracked storms in the archive.

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

Aletta, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 31 May 1978, 00:00 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 Eastern Pacific 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 Eastern Pacific 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