Tropical Storm Bess (1978)
Tropical Storm Bess peaked at 45 kt in the North Atlantic between August 5, 1978 and August 8, 1978, with a lowest pressure of 1005 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Bess, 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
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- August 5, 1978 to August 8, 1978
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 45 kt (52 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 1005 mb (29.68 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 1.2
- Fastest the center moved
- 11 kt (13 mph)
- Identifier
- AL051978
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 12:00 | 25.3N 90.4W | 20 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 5, 18:00 | 25.1N 91.0W | 20 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 6, 00:00 | 24.8N 91.8W | 25 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 6, 06:00 | 24.5N 92.5W | 30 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 6, 12:00 | 24.2N 93.3W | 30 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 6, 18:00 | 23.9N 94.0W | 35 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 7, 00:00 | 23.3N 95.0W | 40 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 7, 06:00 | 22.8N 95.7W | 40 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 7, 12:00 | 22.2N 96.2W | 40 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 7, 18:00 | 21.6N 96.6W | 45 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 8, 00:00 | 21.1N 96.8W | 45 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 8, 06:00 | 20.4N 96.9W | 40 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 8, 12:00 | 20.0N 97.0W | 25 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1978
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm AmeliaNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane CoraNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm DebraNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane EllaNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane FlossieNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm HopeNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane Greta:OliviaNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm IrmaNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm JulietNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane KendraNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 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.
The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.