Cyclone Alby (1978)
Cyclone Alby reached Category 4 in the South Indian between March 27, 1978 and April 5, 1978, with a lowest pressure of 930 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Alby, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1978 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 Indian
- Dates
- March 27, 1978 to April 5, 1978
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 930 mb (27.46 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 72 km (45 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 21.2
- Fastest the center moved
- 65 kt (75 mph)
- Identifier
- SH291978
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 00:00 | 13.7S 115.0E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 27, 06:00 | 13.9S 114.8E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 27, 12:00 | 14.1S 114.5E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 27, 18:00 | 14.3S 114.1E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 28, 00:00 | 14.6S 113.7E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 28, 06:00 | 14.7S 113.2E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 28, 12:00 | 14.9S 112.8E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 28, 18:00 | 15.3S 112.4E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 29, 00:00 | 15.8S 112.2E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 29, 06:00 | 16.2S 112.1E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 29, 12:00 | 16.7S 111.9E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 29, 18:00 | 17.1S 111.8E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 30, 00:00 | 17.6S 111.6E | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 30, 06:00 | 18.0S 111.4E | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 30, 12:00 | 18.3S 111.1E | 65 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 30, 18:00 | 18.6S 110.6E | 70 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 31, 00:00 | 18.8S 110.1E | 75 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 31, 06:00 | 19.0S 109.7E | 85 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 31, 12:00 | 19.2S 109.3E | 90 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 31, 18:00 | 19.5S 108.9E | 95 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 1, 00:00 | 19.8S 108.4E | 100 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 1, 06:00 | 20.2S 107.6E | 105 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 1, 12:00 | 20.6S 106.8E | 110 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 1, 18:00 | 21.0S 106.2E | 115 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 2, 00:00 | 21.4S 105.9E | 115 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 2, 06:00 | 21.7S 105.9E | 115 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 2, 12:00 | 22.0S 106.0E | 115 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 2, 18:00 | 22.6S 106.2E | 115 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 3, 00:00 | 23.6S 106.4E | 110 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 3, 06:00 | 24.8S 106.8E | 105 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 3, 12:00 | 26.2S 107.3E | 100 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 3, 18:00 | 27.9S 108.2E | 95 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 4, 00:00 | 29.9S 109.6E | 90 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 4, 06:00 | 32.3S 111.8E | 85 kt | Mixed | |
| Apr 4, 12:00 | 35.2S 115.0E | 75 kt | Mixed | |
| Apr 4, 18:00 | 37.9S 120.2E | Mixed | ||
| Apr 5, 00:00 | 41.8S 126.3E | Tropical storm |
Other South Indian storms of 1978
- Cyclone AuroreSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Storm BabetteSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Storm Celimene:SamSouth Indian · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Depression DulcineeSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Storm EstherSouth Indian · 1978
- Cyclone TrudySouth Indian · 1978
- Cyclone FleurSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Depression HuberteSouth Indian · 1978
- Cyclone VernSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Storm GeorgiaSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Storm IrenaSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Depression JacquelineSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Depression JacquelineSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Depression KikiSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Storm KikiSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Depression KikiSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Depression LucieSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Storm MarylouSouth Indian · 1978
- Cyclone WinnieSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Storm NadineSouth Indian · 1978
- Tropical Storm BrendaSouth Indian · 1978
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.