The 1977 season

Typhoon Thelma (1977)

Typhoon Thelma reached Category 2 in the Western Pacific between July 19, 1977 and July 27, 1977, with a lowest pressure of 950 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Thelma, 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.

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The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
July 19, 1977 to July 27, 1977
Peak strength
Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
Lowest pressure
950 mb (28.05 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
9.4
Identifier
WP061977

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)PositionWindPressureStatus
Jul 19, 00:0010.0N 138.0E1008 mbTropical storm
Jul 19, 06:0011.6N 137.4E1006 mbMixed
Jul 19, 12:0012.4N 137.0E1006 mbMixed
Jul 19, 18:0013.3N 135.5E1006 mbMixed
Jul 20, 00:0014.0N 133.6E1006 mbMixed
Jul 20, 06:0014.1N 132.4E1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 20, 12:0014.4N 131.5E1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 20, 18:0014.7N 130.9E1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 00:0014.6N 130.1E30 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 06:0015.2N 129.0E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 12:0015.6N 128.1E40 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 18:0015.9N 127.6E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 00:0016.2N 127.1E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 06:0016.5N 126.2E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 12:0016.9N 125.4E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 18:0017.2N 124.6E65 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 00:0017.5N 123.8E70 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 06:0018.0N 123.1E75 kt950 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 12:0018.6N 122.4E80 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 18:0019.1N 121.6E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 00:0019.6N 120.7E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 06:0020.0N 120.0E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 12:0020.4N 119.7E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 18:0021.2N 119.9E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jul 25, 00:0022.2N 120.2E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Jul 25, 06:0023.2N 120.2E75 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 25, 12:0024.2N 120.1E65 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jul 25, 18:0025.2N 120.0E60 kt996 mbMixed
Jul 26, 00:0026.3N 119.8E50 kt998 mbMixed
Jul 26, 06:0028.6N 117.6E998 mbMixed
Jul 26, 12:0029.4N 117.1E998 mbMixed
Jul 26, 18:0029.8N 116.7E998 mbMixed
Jul 27, 00:0030.2N 116.8E998 mbMixed
Jul 27, 06:0030.6N 117.2EDisturbance

Other Western Pacific storms of 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.