Cyclone Karen (1977)

Basin

South Indian

Dates

March 2, 1977 to March 9, 1977

Peak strength

Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)

Lowest pressure

970 mb (28.64 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

8.7

Identifier

SH191977

No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.

• Tropical Depression AgatheSouth Indian · 1977Tropical Depression
• Tropical Depression BrigittaSouth Indian · 1977Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm HarrySouth Indian · 1977Tropical Storm55 kt · 985 mb
• Tropical Depression ClarenceSouth Indian · 1977Tropical Depression
• Cyclone IreneSouth Indian · 1977Cat 285 kt · 970 mb
• Tropical Depression DomitileSouth Indian · 1977Tropical Depression
• Tropical Depression EmilieSouth Indian · 1977Tropical Depression
• Tropical Depression FifiSouth Indian · 1977Tropical Depression
• Tropical Depression GildaSouth Indian · 1977Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Indian · 1977Tropical Depression
• Tropical Depression HerveaSouth Indian · 1977Tropical Depression
• Cyclone Io:JackSouth Indian · 1977Cyclone70 kt · 975 mb
• Cyclone LeoSouth Indian · 1977Cat 290 kt · 960 mb
• Tropical Storm VernaSouth Indian · 1977Tropical Storm60 kt · 973 mb

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.