Hurricane History Map

1978 South-West Indian season

20 storms formed in the South-West Indian basin in 1978, from 18 November 1977 to 14 April 1978.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

Years1978
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

The 1978 season in numbers

The record holds 20 storms for the 1978 South-West Indian season, of which 19 had names.15 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 6 reached cyclone strength (category 1 or more) and 3 were major (category 3 or more). 1 has no wind speed in the record.

  • 20storms
  • 15tropical storm strength or more
  • 6cyclone strength or more
  • 3major (category 3 to 5)
  • 84accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 1978

  • Alby (1978)27 March 1978 to 5 April 1978, peak Category 4 (115 kt)
  • Winnie (1978)16 March 1978 to 29 March 1978, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 945 hPa
  • Aurore (1978)18 November 1977 to 29 November 1977, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 927 hPa
  • Trudy (1978)10 January 1978 to 20 January 1978, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 955 hPa
  • Fleur (1978)16 January 1978 to 23 January 1978, peak Category 2 (93 kt), 941 hPa

All 20 storms of 1978

StormPeak
Aurore Category 3
Babette Tropical storm
Celimene:sam Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Dulcinee Tropical depression
Esther Tropical storm
Trudy Category 2
Fleur Category 2
Huberte Tropical depression
Georgia Tropical storm
Vern Category 2
Irena Tropical storm
Jacqueline Tropical depression
Kiki Tropical storm
Lucie Tropical depression
Marylou Tropical storm
Winnie Category 3
Nadine Tropical storm
Alby Category 4
Brenda Tropical storm

← 1977 · 1979 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1978

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.