The 1978 season

Typhoon Virginia (1978)

Typhoon Virginia reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between July 22, 1978 and August 4, 1978, with a lowest pressure of 975 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Virginia, 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
July 22, 1978 to August 4, 1978
Peak strength
Category 1, 70 kt (81 mph)
Lowest pressure
975 mb (28.79 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 101 km (63 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
15.0
Identifier
WP071978

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
Jul 22, 00:0013.7N 152.0E25 ktTropical depression
Jul 22, 06:0014.1N 151.7E25 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Jul 22, 12:0014.6N 151.4E30 kt996 mbTropical depression
Jul 22, 18:0015.0N 151.2E30 kt992 mbTropical depression
Jul 23, 00:0015.5N 151.1E35 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 06:0015.8N 151.0E35 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 12:0016.1N 151.0E40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 18:0016.3N 151.0E40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 00:0016.6N 151.0E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 06:0017.2N 151.0E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 12:0017.8N 151.0E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 18:0018.3N 150.9E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 25, 00:0018.9N 150.5E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jul 25, 06:0019.5N 150.1E65 kt975 mbTyphoon
Jul 25, 12:0020.1N 149.7E65 kt975 mbTyphoon
Jul 25, 18:0020.5N 149.3E65 kt975 mbTyphoon
Jul 26, 00:0020.9N 148.9E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jul 26, 06:0021.3N 148.4E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 26, 12:0021.7N 147.8E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 26, 18:0021.8N 147.3E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 27, 00:0021.7N 147.0E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 27, 06:0021.5N 147.0E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 27, 12:0021.4N 147.2E65 kt985 mbTyphoon
Jul 27, 18:0021.3N 147.5E65 kt980 mbTyphoon
Jul 28, 00:0021.3N 147.7E65 kt980 mbTyphoon
Jul 28, 06:0021.3N 147.5E65 kt980 mbTyphoon
Jul 28, 12:0021.6N 147.3E65 kt980 mbTyphoon
Jul 28, 18:0022.1N 147.2E65 kt980 mbTyphoon
Jul 29, 00:0022.7N 147.1E70 kt980 mbTyphoon
Jul 29, 06:0023.3N 146.8E70 kt980 mbTyphoon
Jul 29, 12:0023.9N 146.3E65 kt980 mbTyphoon
Jul 29, 18:0024.6N 145.6E65 kt980 mbTyphoon
Jul 30, 00:0025.4N 145.0E65 kt985 mbTyphoon
Jul 30, 06:0026.4N 144.4E65 kt985 mbTyphoon
Jul 30, 12:0027.4N 143.8E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 30, 18:0028.4N 143.1E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 31, 00:0029.5N 142.5E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 31, 06:0030.6N 142.2E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 31, 12:0031.7N 141.9E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 31, 18:0032.6N 141.5E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 1, 00:0033.6N 141.2E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 1, 06:0034.8N 141.5E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 1, 12:0036.2N 142.5E50 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 1, 18:0037.7N 143.6E45 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 2, 00:0039.1N 144.9E40 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 2, 06:0040.1N 146.7E40 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 2, 12:0040.7N 149.0E40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 2, 18:0041.8N 151.0E35 kt985 mbTropical depression
Aug 3, 00:0043.3N 150.6E45 kt990 mbMixed
Aug 3, 06:0044.4N 152.6E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 3, 12:0045.5N 155.3E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 3, 18:0046.0N 158.5E45 kt994 mbTropical storm
Aug 4, 00:0046.0N 162.0E998 mbExtratropical
Aug 4, 06:0047.0N 169.0E998 mbExtratropical
Aug 4, 12:0048.0N 176.2E994 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.