The 1978 season

Typhoon Carmen (1978)

Typhoon Carmen reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between August 9, 1978 and August 20, 1978, with a lowest pressure of 960 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Carmen, 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.

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The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
August 9, 1978 to August 20, 1978
Peak strength
Category 1, 80 kt (92 mph)
Lowest pressure
960 mb (28.35 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
13.4
Identifier
WP111978

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
Aug 9, 06:0016.0N 143.0E1006 mbTropical storm
Aug 9, 12:0016.6N 143.1E1006 mbMixed
Aug 9, 18:0017.1N 143.7E1006 mbMixed
Aug 10, 00:0017.2N 144.2E1006 mbMixed
Aug 10, 06:0016.8N 144.7E1006 mbTropical storm
Aug 10, 12:0016.6N 145.5E20 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Aug 10, 18:0016.4N 145.2E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 00:0016.2N 144.9E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 06:0015.9N 144.6E40 kt992 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 12:0015.6N 144.4E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 18:0015.7N 144.4E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 00:0016.1N 144.4E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 06:0016.6N 144.0E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 12:0017.4N 143.3E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 18:0018.7N 142.4E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 00:0020.0N 141.1E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 06:0021.1N 139.5E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 12:0022.0N 137.9E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 18:0022.7N 136.4E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 00:0023.4N 134.9E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 06:0024.2N 133.4E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 12:0025.0N 131.9E70 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 18:0025.8N 130.3E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 00:0026.5N 128.7E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 06:0027.1N 127.2E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 12:0027.5N 125.9E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 18:0027.9N 124.6E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 00:0028.3N 123.8E75 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 06:0028.6N 123.5E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 12:0028.7N 123.2E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 18:0028.4N 122.9E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 00:0028.2N 122.6E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 06:0028.4N 122.7E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 12:0028.6N 123.0E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 18:0028.7N 123.2E50 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 00:0028.8N 123.5E50 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 06:0028.5N 123.8E45 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 12:0028.1N 124.1E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 18:0028.4N 124.3E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 00:0029.2N 124.5E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 06:0030.2N 125.0E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 12:0031.4N 125.6E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 18:0032.9N 126.2E40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 00:0034.8N 126.8E30 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 06:0035.9N 127.9E1001 mbMixed
Aug 20, 12:0037.3N 129.7E1005 mbMixed

Other Western Pacific storms of 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.