Tropical Storm Esther (1978)

Basin

South Indian

Dates

December 28, 1977 to January 2, 1978

Peak strength

Tropical Storm, 44 kt (51 mph), ten-minute wind

Lowest pressure

984 mb (29.06 inHg)

Landfall

No; closest approach 959 km (596 mi)

Accumulated cyclone energy

0.3

Identifier

SH101978

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.

• Cyclone AuroreSouth Indian · 1978Cyclone92 kt · 927 mb
• Tropical Storm BabetteSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Storm36 kt · 991 mb
• Tropical Storm Celimene:SamSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Storm50 kt · 990 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Depression
• Tropical Depression DulcineeSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Depression28 kt · 997 mb
• Cyclone TrudySouth Indian · 1978Cat 295 kt · 954 mb
• Cyclone FleurSouth Indian · 1978Cyclone82 kt · 941 mb
• Tropical Depression HuberteSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Depression28 kt · 997 mb
• Cyclone VernSouth Indian · 1978Cat 285 kt · 964 mb
• Tropical Storm GeorgiaSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Storm36 kt · 991 mb
• Tropical Storm IrenaSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Storm52 kt · 976 mb
• Tropical Depression JacquelineSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Depression28 kt · 997 mb
• Tropical Depression JacquelineSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Depression28 kt · 997 mb
• Tropical Depression KikiSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm KikiSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Storm36 kt · 991 mb
• Tropical Depression KikiSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Depression
• Tropical Depression LucieSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Depression28 kt · 997 mb
• Tropical Storm MarylouSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Storm36 kt · 991 mb
• Cyclone WinnieSouth Indian · 1978Cat 3105 kt · 945 mb
• Tropical Storm NadineSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Storm52 kt · 976 mb
• Cyclone AlbySouth Indian · 1978Cat 4115 kt · 930 mb
• Tropical Storm BrendaSouth Indian · 1978Tropical Storm45 kt · 990 mb

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. This storm’s winds are ten-minute averages from its regional agency. They read about 12 percent lower than the one-minute winds US agencies use, so a Saffir-Simpson category is not given for it.

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.