Typhoon Viola (1978)

Typhoon Viola reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between November 16, 1978 and November 27, 1978, with a lowest pressure of 910 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Viola, 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: November 16, 1978 to November 27, 1978
Peak strength: Category 4, 125 kt (144 mph)
Lowest pressure: 910 mb (26.87 inHg)
Landfall: No; closest approach 671 km (417 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy: 19.0
Identifier: WP311978

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 16, 00:00	3.8N 155.0E	15 kt		Tropical depression
Nov 16, 06:00	4.8N 154.1E	15 kt		Tropical depression
Nov 16, 12:00	5.6N 153.3E	20 kt		Tropical depression
Nov 16, 18:00	6.2N 152.6E	20 kt		Tropical depression
Nov 17, 00:00	6.8N 151.8E	25 kt	1004 mb	Tropical depression
Nov 17, 06:00	7.8N 150.3E	30 kt	998 mb	Tropical depression
Nov 17, 12:00	8.7N 148.5E	35 kt	998 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 17, 18:00	9.1N 147.0E	35 kt	996 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 18, 00:00	9.4N 145.6E	40 kt	994 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 18, 06:00	10.2N 144.3E	40 kt	994 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 18, 12:00	10.9N 143.1E	45 kt	992 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 18, 18:00	11.3N 141.8E	45 kt	985 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 19, 00:00	11.7N 140.4E	50 kt	985 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 19, 06:00	12.3N 139.1E	50 kt	985 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 19, 12:00	12.9N 138.0E	55 kt	980 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 19, 18:00	13.3N 137.2E	60 kt	975 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 20, 00:00	13.8N 136.5E	65 kt	970 mb	Typhoon
Nov 20, 06:00	14.5N 135.6E	75 kt	960 mb	Typhoon
Nov 20, 12:00	15.1N 134.8E	85 kt	945 mb	Typhoon
Nov 20, 18:00	15.5N 134.1E	100 kt	935 mb	Typhoon
Nov 21, 00:00	15.9N 133.4E	115 kt	920 mb	Typhoon
Nov 21, 06:00	16.3N 132.6E	125 kt	910 mb	Typhoon
Nov 21, 12:00	16.8N 131.7E	125 kt	910 mb	Typhoon
Nov 21, 18:00	17.5N 130.8E	125 kt	920 mb	Typhoon
Nov 22, 00:00	18.3N 129.9E	120 kt	920 mb	Typhoon
Nov 22, 06:00	19.2N 129.0E	115 kt	930 mb	Typhoon
Nov 22, 12:00	20.1N 128.3E	110 kt	935 mb	Typhoon
Nov 22, 18:00	20.9N 128.3E	105 kt	940 mb	Typhoon
Nov 23, 00:00	21.7N 129.1E	95 kt	945 mb	Typhoon
Nov 23, 06:00	22.7N 130.0E	85 kt	950 mb	Typhoon
Nov 23, 12:00	23.7N 131.0E	70 kt	955 mb	Typhoon
Nov 23, 18:00	24.5N 132.3E	60 kt	965 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 24, 00:00	25.2N 133.8E	50 kt	985 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 24, 06:00	25.4N 135.9E	40 kt	994 mb	Tropical depression
Nov 24, 12:00	24.3N 136.1E	45 kt	994 mb	Tropical storm
Nov 24, 18:00	23.8N 136.4E		998 mb	Mixed
Nov 25, 00:00	23.6N 136.6E		1000 mb	Mixed
Nov 25, 06:00	23.3N 136.7E		1002 mb	Mixed
Nov 25, 12:00	23.2N 136.9E		1002 mb	Mixed
Nov 25, 18:00	23.0N 137.1E		1004 mb	Mixed
Nov 26, 00:00	22.7N 137.1E		1004 mb	Mixed
Nov 26, 06:00	22.5N 137.1E		1004 mb	Mixed
Nov 26, 12:00	22.1N 137.1E		1006 mb	Mixed
Nov 26, 18:00	21.7N 137.4E		1006 mb	Mixed
Nov 27, 00:00	21.2N 137.8E		1006 mb	Mixed
Nov 27, 06:00	20.6N 138.5E		1006 mb	Extratropical

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.