Cyclone Steve (1978)
Cyclone Steve reached Category 1 in the South Pacific between November 24, 1977 and December 4, 1977, with a lowest pressure of 965 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Steve, 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
- South Pacific
- Dates
- November 24, 1977 to December 4, 1977
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 965 mb (28.50 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 249 km (155 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 3.8
- Identifier
- SH031978
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 24, 00:00 | 5.9S 176.9E | 25 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 24, 06:00 | 6.4S 176.4E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 24, 12:00 | 6.9S 176.0E | 25 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 24, 18:00 | 7.4S 175.8E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 25, 00:00 | 7.9S 175.8E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 25, 06:00 | 8.4S 175.9E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 25, 12:00 | 9.0S 176.0E | 35 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 25, 18:00 | 9.7S 175.9E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 26, 00:00 | 10.5S 175.8E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 26, 06:00 | 11.0S 175.7E | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 26, 12:00 | 11.5S 175.5E | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 26, 18:00 | 12.3S 175.2E | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 27, 00:00 | 13.0S 175.0E | 65 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 27, 06:00 | 13.4S 174.9E | 65 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 27, 12:00 | 13.8S 174.8E | 65 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 27, 18:00 | 14.3S 174.6E | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 28, 00:00 | 15.0S 174.5E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 28, 06:00 | 16.0S 174.6E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 28, 12:00 | 17.0S 174.7E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 28, 18:00 | 18.0S 174.8E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 29, 00:00 | 19.0S 175.0E | 35 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 29, 06:00 | 19.9S 175.1E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 29, 12:00 | 20.7S 175.3E | 35 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 29, 18:00 | 21.8S 175.4E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 30, 00:00 | 23.0S 175.5E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 30, 06:00 | 23.9S 175.4E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Nov 30, 12:00 | 24.7S 175.3E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 30, 18:00 | 25.3S 175.2E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 1, 00:00 | 26.0S 175.0E | 25 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 1, 06:00 | 26.7S 174.8E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 1, 12:00 | 27.5S 174.5E | 25 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 1, 18:00 | 28.2S 174.4E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 2, 00:00 | 29.0S 174.4E | 25 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 2, 06:00 | 30.3S 175.2E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 2, 12:00 | 32.2S 176.8E | 25 kt | 997 mb | Mixed |
| Dec 2, 18:00 | 30.8S 175.3E | Not reported | ||
| Dec 3, 00:00 | 31.5S 176.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Dec 3, 06:00 | 31.9S 176.9E | Not reported | ||
| Dec 3, 12:00 | 32.2S 178.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Dec 3, 18:00 | 32.6S 179.0E | Not reported | ||
| Dec 4, 00:00 | 33.0S 180.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 1978
- Tropical Storm TomSouth Pacific · 1978
- Tropical Storm TessaSouth Pacific · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1978
- Tropical Storm AnneSouth Pacific · 1978
- Cyclone BobSouth Pacific · 1978
- Cyclone BobSouth Pacific · 1978
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1978
- Cyclone CharlesSouth Pacific · 1978
- Tropical Storm ErnieSouth Pacific · 1978
- Tropical Storm DianaSouth Pacific · 1978
- Tropical Storm GwenSouth Pacific · 1978
- Cyclone HalSouth Pacific · 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.