Hurricane Ella (1978)
Hurricane Ella reached Category 4 in the North Atlantic between August 30, 1978 and September 5, 1978, with a lowest pressure of 956 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Ella, 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 30, 1978 to September 5, 1978
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 120 kt (138 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 956 mb (28.23 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 72 km (45 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 19.2
- Fastest the center moved
- 41 kt (47 mph)
- Identifier
- AL101978
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 30, 00:00 | 26.2N 59.7W | 20 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 30, 06:00 | 26.5N 60.8W | 20 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 30, 12:00 | 27.0N 62.0W | 30 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical depression |
| Aug 30, 18:00 | 27.3N 63.1W | 40 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 31, 00:00 | 27.6N 64.2W | 50 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 31, 06:00 | 28.2N 65.9W | 55 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 31, 12:00 | 28.8N 67.6W | 60 kt | 986 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 31, 18:00 | 29.3N 68.8W | 70 kt | 980 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 1, 00:00 | 29.6N 70.0W | 90 kt | 978 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 1, 06:00 | 30.1N 71.1W | 100 kt | 975 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 1, 12:00 | 30.7N 71.8W | 110 kt | 970 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 1, 18:00 | 31.1N 72.3W | 110 kt | 960 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 2, 00:00 | 31.2N 72.7W | 105 kt | 960 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 2, 06:00 | 31.4N 73.1W | 100 kt | 977 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 2, 12:00 | 31.6N 73.3W | 80 kt | 981 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 2, 18:00 | 31.9N 73.0W | 70 kt | 983 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 3, 00:00 | 32.3N 72.8W | 70 kt | 983 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 3, 06:00 | 33.0N 72.4W | 80 kt | 981 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 3, 12:00 | 33.8N 71.7W | 85 kt | 976 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 3, 18:00 | 35.0N 70.2W | 95 kt | 970 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 00:00 | 36.2N 68.3W | 110 kt | 962 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 06:00 | 38.0N 66.0W | 115 kt | 958 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 12:00 | 40.0N 63.0W | 120 kt | 956 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 18:00 | 42.5N 59.5W | 115 kt | 956 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 00:00 | 45.0N 55.0W | 105 kt | 960 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 06:00 | 47.2N 50.2W | 80 kt | 975 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 12:00 | 49.0N 45.0W | 65 kt | 980 mb | Hurricane |
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
- Tropical Storm BessNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Hurricane CoraNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1978
- Tropical Storm DebraNorth 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.