Cyclone Ted (1977)
Cyclone Ted reached Category 3 in the South Pacific between December 16, 1976 and December 21, 1976, with a lowest pressure of 945 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Ted, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1977 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- South Pacific
- Dates
- December 16, 1976 to December 21, 1976
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 945 mb (27.91 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 6.6
- Identifier
- SH041977
Deaths and damage
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.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 16, 00:00 | 12.7S 140.0E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 16, 06:00 | 12.8S 139.6E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 16, 12:00 | 12.9S 139.3E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 16, 18:00 | 13.0S 139.0E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 17, 00:00 | 13.0S 138.7E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 17, 06:00 | 13.1S 138.4E | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 17, 12:00 | 13.2S 138.1E | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 17, 18:00 | 13.4S 137.9E | 70 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 18, 00:00 | 13.8S 137.7E | 80 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 18, 06:00 | 14.3S 137.7E | 95 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 18, 12:00 | 14.8S 137.9E | 100 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 18, 18:00 | 15.4S 138.3E | 95 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 19, 00:00 | 16.2S 138.7E | 80 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 19, 06:00 | 17.2S 139.3E | 70 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 19, 12:00 | 18.2S 139.8E | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 19, 18:00 | 19.0S 140.2E | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 20, 00:00 | 19.8S 140.5E | 40 kt | Mixed | |
| Dec 20, 06:00 | 19.9S 140.9E | Tropical storm | ||
| Dec 20, 12:00 | 20.2S 140.9E | Tropical storm | ||
| Dec 20, 18:00 | 20.4S 140.9E | Tropical storm | ||
| Dec 21, 00:00 | 20.7S 141.0E | Tropical storm |
Other South Pacific storms of 1977
- Tropical Storm KimSouth Pacific · 1977
- Tropical Storm LaurieSouth Pacific · 1977
- Cyclone MarionSouth Pacific · 1977
- Cyclone JuneSouth Pacific · 1977
- Tropical Storm KeithSouth Pacific · 1977
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1977
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1977
- Tropical Storm LilySouth Pacific · 1977
- Tropical Storm MilesSouth Pacific · 1977
- Tropical Storm NancySouth Pacific · 1977
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1977
- Tropical Storm OttoSouth Pacific · 1977
- Tropical Storm NormanSouth Pacific · 1977
- Tropical Storm PatSouth Pacific · 1977
- Cyclone RobertSouth Pacific · 1977
What this means
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.
Sources
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.