The 1978 season

Tropical Storm Polly (1978)

Tropical Storm Polly peaked at 50 kt in the Western Pacific between June 13, 1978 and June 24, 1978, with a lowest pressure of 985 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Tropical Storm Polly, 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
June 13, 1978 to June 24, 1978
Peak strength
Tropical Storm, 50 kt (58 mph)
Lowest pressure
985 mb (29.09 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
1.5
Identifier
WP031978

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
Jun 13, 12:0020.3N 138.3E15 ktTropical storm
Jun 13, 18:0021.3N 137.3E20 ktTropical storm
Jun 14, 00:0022.2N 136.3E20 kt1004 mbMixed
Jun 14, 06:0023.1N 135.4E20 kt1004 mbMixed
Jun 14, 12:0023.8N 134.5E20 kt1004 mbMixed
Jun 14, 18:0024.2N 133.7E20 kt1002 mbMixed
Jun 15, 00:0024.1N 133.1E15 kt1002 mbMixed
Jun 15, 06:0023.7N 132.6E15 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Jun 15, 12:0023.3N 132.3E15 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jun 15, 18:0022.8N 132.4E20 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jun 16, 00:0022.4N 132.4E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jun 16, 06:0022.8N 131.8E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jun 16, 12:0023.5N 131.0E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jun 16, 18:0024.0N 129.9E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jun 17, 00:0024.4N 128.9E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jun 17, 06:0024.7N 128.1E25 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jun 17, 12:0025.0N 127.4E25 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jun 17, 18:0025.5N 126.7E25 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jun 18, 00:0026.1N 126.3E30 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jun 18, 06:0026.3N 126.2E30 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jun 18, 12:0026.5N 126.1E35 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jun 18, 18:0026.9N 126.0E35 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 19, 00:0027.5N 126.0E40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 19, 06:0028.2N 126.1E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 19, 12:0029.1N 126.4E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 19, 18:0030.3N 126.7E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 20, 00:0031.5N 127.3E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 20, 06:0032.5N 128.5E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jun 20, 12:0033.4N 130.4E30 kt998 mbMixed
Jun 20, 18:0036.8N 135.5E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 21, 00:0039.0N 139.5E999 mbExtratropical
Jun 21, 06:0041.4N 144.0E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 21, 12:0042.5N 147.9E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 21, 18:0043.3N 151.7E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 22, 00:0043.7N 155.0E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 22, 06:0044.0N 158.5E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 22, 12:0044.6N 162.0E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 22, 18:0044.9N 165.3E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 23, 00:0045.1N 168.3E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 23, 06:0045.1N 170.6E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 23, 12:0045.3N 172.8E998 mbExtratropical
Jun 23, 18:0046.8N 175.7E996 mbExtratropical
Jun 24, 00:0048.1N 178.1E994 mbExtratropical

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.