The 1978 season

Typhoon Olive (1978)

Typhoon Olive reached Category 2 in the Western Pacific between April 15, 1978 and May 1, 1978, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Olive, 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
April 15, 1978 to May 1, 1978
Peak strength
Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
Lowest pressure
955 mb (28.20 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
13.9
Identifier
WP021978

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
Apr 15, 00:003.5N 149.0E15 ktTropical depression
Apr 15, 06:003.9N 147.6E15 ktTropical depression
Apr 15, 12:004.3N 146.2E15 ktTropical depression
Apr 15, 18:004.7N 144.8E15 ktTropical depression
Apr 16, 00:005.0N 143.5E15 ktTropical depression
Apr 16, 06:005.3N 142.8E15 ktTropical depression
Apr 16, 12:005.6N 142.3E20 ktTropical depression
Apr 16, 18:005.9N 141.6E20 ktTropical depression
Apr 17, 00:006.2N 140.8E25 kt1006 mbTropical depression
Apr 17, 06:006.7N 139.3E25 kt1006 mbTropical depression
Apr 17, 12:007.4N 137.7E25 kt1006 mbTropical depression
Apr 17, 18:008.0N 136.5E25 kt1006 mbTropical depression
Apr 18, 00:008.4N 135.2E30 kt1004 mbTropical depression
Apr 18, 06:008.7N 133.9E30 kt1002 mbTropical depression
Apr 18, 12:009.0N 132.6E30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Apr 18, 18:009.3N 131.3E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 00:009.6N 129.9E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 06:0010.0N 128.6E45 kt992 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 12:0010.4N 127.4E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Apr 19, 18:0010.8N 126.0E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 00:0011.3N 124.6E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 06:0011.8N 123.3E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 12:0012.4N 122.1E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 20, 18:0012.9N 120.9E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 00:0013.2N 119.7E45 kt996 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 06:0013.3N 118.7E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 12:0013.5N 117.9E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 21, 18:0013.6N 117.2E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 00:0013.8N 116.4E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Apr 22, 06:0014.2N 115.7E65 kt970 mbTyphoon
Apr 22, 12:0014.8N 114.9E70 kt960 mbTyphoon
Apr 22, 18:0015.3N 114.2E80 kt955 mbTyphoon
Apr 23, 00:0015.9N 113.6E85 kt955 mbTyphoon
Apr 23, 06:0016.4N 113.2E85 kt955 mbTyphoon
Apr 23, 12:0017.0N 113.1E85 kt955 mbTyphoon
Apr 23, 18:0017.7N 113.0E85 kt955 mbTyphoon
Apr 24, 00:0018.4N 113.5E85 kt955 mbTyphoon
Apr 24, 06:0019.1N 114.7E85 kt955 mbTyphoon
Apr 24, 12:0019.7N 116.0E85 kt960 mbTyphoon
Apr 24, 18:0020.2N 117.2E80 kt965 mbTyphoon
Apr 25, 00:0020.7N 118.7E75 kt970 mbTyphoon
Apr 25, 06:0021.1N 120.9E70 kt975 mbTyphoon
Apr 25, 12:0021.5N 123.2E65 kt975 mbTyphoon
Apr 25, 18:0021.8N 125.3E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 00:0022.0N 127.4E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 06:0022.4N 129.5E50 kt980 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 12:0022.9N 131.5E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Apr 26, 18:0023.3N 133.3E40 kt990 mbTropical depression
Apr 27, 00:0023.5N 135.1E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Apr 27, 06:0023.7N 136.8E40 kt996 mbTropical storm
Apr 27, 12:0024.1N 138.7E40 kt996 mbTropical storm
Apr 27, 18:0024.2N 140.3E1000 mbMixed
Apr 28, 00:0024.0N 140.9E1004 mbMixed
Apr 28, 06:0023.5N 140.8E1006 mbTropical storm
Apr 28, 12:0023.8N 141.0E1008 mbTropical storm
Apr 28, 18:0024.0N 141.0E1010 mbTropical storm
Apr 29, 00:0024.1N 141.0E1012 mbTropical storm
Apr 29, 06:0024.2N 141.0E1012 mbTropical storm
Apr 29, 12:0024.7N 141.0E1012 mbTropical storm
Apr 29, 18:0025.0N 140.5E1012 mbTropical storm
Apr 30, 00:0025.0N 140.0E1012 mbTropical storm
Apr 30, 06:0024.5N 140.5E1012 mbTropical storm
Apr 30, 12:0025.0N 141.0E1012 mbTropical storm
Apr 30, 18:0025.5N 141.0E1012 mbTropical storm
May 1, 00:0026.0N 141.0E1012 mbTropical storm

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.