The 1978 season

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.

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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)PositionWindPressureStatus
Nov 24, 00:005.9S 176.9E25 kt997 mbTropical storm
Nov 24, 06:006.4S 176.4E25 ktTropical storm
Nov 24, 12:006.9S 176.0E25 kt990 mbTropical storm
Nov 24, 18:007.4S 175.8E30 ktTropical storm
Nov 25, 00:007.9S 175.8E30 kt990 mbTropical storm
Nov 25, 06:008.4S 175.9E30 ktTropical storm
Nov 25, 12:009.0S 176.0E35 kt990 mbTropical storm
Nov 25, 18:009.7S 175.9E35 ktTropical storm
Nov 26, 00:0010.5S 175.8E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Nov 26, 06:0011.0S 175.7E45 ktTropical storm
Nov 26, 12:0011.5S 175.5E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Nov 26, 18:0012.3S 175.2E60 ktTropical storm
Nov 27, 00:0013.0S 175.0E65 kt970 mbTropical storm
Nov 27, 06:0013.4S 174.9E65 ktTropical storm
Nov 27, 12:0013.8S 174.8E65 kt965 mbTropical storm
Nov 27, 18:0014.3S 174.6E55 ktTropical storm
Nov 28, 00:0015.0S 174.5E45 kt980 mbTropical storm
Nov 28, 06:0016.0S 174.6E40 ktTropical storm
Nov 28, 12:0017.0S 174.7E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Nov 28, 18:0018.0S 174.8E35 ktTropical storm
Nov 29, 00:0019.0S 175.0E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
Nov 29, 06:0019.9S 175.1E35 ktTropical storm
Nov 29, 12:0020.7S 175.3E35 kt997 mbTropical storm
Nov 29, 18:0021.8S 175.4E30 ktTropical storm
Nov 30, 00:0023.0S 175.5E30 kt997 mbTropical storm
Nov 30, 06:0023.9S 175.4E30 ktTropical storm
Nov 30, 12:0024.7S 175.3E30 kt997 mbTropical storm
Nov 30, 18:0025.3S 175.2E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 1, 00:0026.0S 175.0E25 kt997 mbTropical storm
Dec 1, 06:0026.7S 174.8E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 1, 12:0027.5S 174.5E25 kt997 mbTropical storm
Dec 1, 18:0028.2S 174.4E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 2, 00:0029.0S 174.4E25 kt997 mbTropical storm
Dec 2, 06:0030.3S 175.2E25 ktTropical storm
Dec 2, 12:0032.2S 176.8E25 kt997 mbMixed
Dec 2, 18:0030.8S 175.3ENot reported
Dec 3, 00:0031.5S 176.0E30 kt997 mbNot reported
Dec 3, 06:0031.9S 176.9ENot reported
Dec 3, 12:0032.2S 178.0E30 kt997 mbNot reported
Dec 3, 18:0032.6S 179.0ENot reported
Dec 4, 00:0033.0S 180.0E30 kt997 mbNot reported

Other South 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.