1978 Atlantic Hurricane Season
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The 1978 Atlantic hurricane season was the last Atlantic hurricane season to use an all-female naming list. The season officially began on June 1, and ended on November 30. It was an above average season due to a subsiding
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. The first storm, a subtropical storm, developed unusually early – on January 18 – and dissipated five days later without causing any damage. At the end of July and early August, short-lived Tropical Storm Amelia caused extensive flooding in
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after dropping as much as of rain. There were 33 deaths and
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110 million (equivalent to $ million in ) in damage. Tropical Storm Bess and
Hurricane Cora Hurricane Cora was the first tropical cyclone of the 1978 Atlantic hurricane season to reach hurricane strength. Forming from a disturbance that exited the African coast on August 7, the storm moved at an unusually high forward speed for a cyclo ...
resulted in only minor land impacts, while the latter was attributed to one fatality. Later in August, Tropical Storm Debra produced widespread effects on the US Gulf Coast, though damage was also relatively minor. Hurricane Ella became the northernmost Category 4 hurricane while located at 38°N, and lashed the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada with gusty winds and rip currents. Hurricanes Flossie and Kendra as well as tropical storms Hope, Irma, and Juliet had minimal land impacts as tropical cyclones. However, the precursor to Kendra caused flooding in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
.
Hurricane Greta A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
brought strong winds, high tides, and flooding to Central America, particularly
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
and Honduras. Greta resulted in about $25 million in damage and at least five fatalities. The storm crossed into the eastern Pacific and was renamed Olivia. Overall, the storms of this season collectively caused $191 million in damage and 42 fatalities.


Season summary

ImageSize = width:800 height:240 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1978 till:01/12/1978 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/01/1978 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_≤38_mph_(≤62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117_km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(118–153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96–110_mph_(154–177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111–129_mph_(178–208_km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130–156_mph_(209–251_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_≥157_mph_(≥252_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:18/01/1978 till:23/01/1978 color:TS text:"One" (SS) from:21/06/1978 till:23/06/1978 color:TD text:"TD" from:10/07/1978 till:12/07/1978 color:TD text:"TD" from:30/07/1978 till:01/08/1978 color:TS text:" Amelia (TS)" from:06/08/1978 till:08/08/1978 color:TS text:"Bess" (TS) from:07/08/1978 till:12/08/1978 color:C1 text:" Cora (C1)" from:07/08/1978 till:11/08/1978 color:TD text:"Four" (TD) from:09/08/1978 till:10/08/1978 color:TD text:"TD" from:26/08/1978 till:29/08/1978 color:TS text:" Debra (TS)" from:30/08/1978 till:05/09/1978 color:C4 text:" Ella (C4)" barset:break from:30/08/1978 till:01/09/1978 color:TD text:"TD" from:03/09/1978 till:11/09/1978 color:TD text:"Eight" (TD) from:04/09/1978 till:15/09/1978 color:C2 text:"Flossie" (C2) from:08/09/1978 till:10/09/1978 color:TD text:"Nine" (TD) from:12/09/1978 till:21/09/1978 color:TS text:"Hope" (TS) from:13/09/1978 till:20/09/1978 color:C4 text:" Greta (C4)" from:18/09/1978 till:29/09/1978 color:TD text:"Twelve" (TD) from:21/09/1978 till:23/09/1978 color:TD text:"TD" from:02/10/1978 till:05/10/1978 color:TS text:"Irma" (TS) from:07/10/1978 till:11/10/1978 color:TS text:"Juliet" (TS) barset:break from:15/10/1978 till:19/10/1978 color:TD text:"TD" from:26/10/1978 till:29/10/1978 color:TD text:"TD" from:28/10/1978 till:01/11/1978 color:C1 text:"Kendra" (C1) from:03/11/1978 till:04/11/1978 color:TD text:"TD" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/01/1978 till:01/02/1978 text:January from:01/02/1978 till:01/03/1978 text:February from:01/03/1978 till:01/04/1978 text:March from:01/04/1978 till:01/05/1978 text:April from:01/05/1978 till:01/06/1978 text:May from:01/06/1978 till:01/07/1978 text:June from:01/07/1978 till:01/08/1978 text:July from:01/08/1978 till:01/09/1978 text:August from:01/09/1978 till:01/10/1978 text:September from:01/10/1978 till:01/11/1978 text:October from:01/11/1978 till:01/12/1978 text:November TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(617,30) text:" Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)"
The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1978. Although 24 tropical cyclones developed, only twelve of them reached tropical storm intensity, which is slightly above the 1966-2009 average of 11.3 named storms per season. Of the twelve tropical storms, five of them strengthened into a hurricane, which is slightly below the 1966-2009 average of 6.2. Two of the five hurricane became major hurricanes, which is Category 3 or greater on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Three tropical storms and two hurricanes made landfall during the season. Collectively, the tropical cyclones of the 1978 season caused at least 41 fatalities and $135 million. Additionally, the precursor to Hurricane Kendra brought flooding to Puerto Rico, with $6 million in damage and one death. The season officially ended on November 30, 1978.
Tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occurs. Tr ...
began very early, with the development of a subtropical storm on January 18. It dissipated about five days later. However, the next tropical cyclone, an unnumbered depression, did not develop until June 21. In July, there were two systems, including an unnumbered tropical depression and Tropical Storm Amelia. Seven tropical cyclones formed in August, including Tropical Depression Four, tropical storms Bess and
Debra Debra is a feminine given name. Debra may refer to: People * Debra Adelaide (born 1958), Australian writer * Debra Allbery (born 1957), American poet * Debra R. Anderson (1949-2022), American politician * Debra Austin (born 1955), American ba ...
and hurricanes Cora and Ella. There were also seven systems in September – tropical depressions Eight, Nine, and Twelve, Tropical Storm Hope, and hurricanes Flossie and Greta. During the month of October, there were five tropical cyclones, with two unnumbered tropical depressions, tropical storms Irma and Juliet, and Hurricane Kendra. There was another unnumbered tropical depression in November, which dissipated on November 5. The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 63. ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, a storm with a longer duration will have high values of ACE. It is only calculated at six-hour increments in which specific tropical and subtropical systems are either at or above sustained wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity.


Systems


Subtropical Storm One

In the middle of January, an upper-level trough in the
westerlies The westerlies, anti-trades, or prevailing westerlies, are prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. They originate from the high-pressure areas in the horse latitudes and trend t ...
spawned a surface
low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
to the east-northeast of the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...
and to the south of a subtropical ridge. Isolated from the detrimental effects of the westerlies, it was initially non-tropical in nature and intensified through a
baroclinic In fluid dynamics, the baroclinity (often called baroclinicity) of a stratified fluid is a measure of how misaligned the gradient of pressure is from the gradient of density in a fluid. In meteorology a baroclinic flow is one in which the densi ...
energy source, or one that derives energy from the interaction of cold and warm air. Convection increased slightly despite cool sea surface temperatures of around . At 1200  UTC on January 18, it organized into a
subtropical depression A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical and an extratropical cyclone. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as tropical or extratropical cyclon ...
about east-northeast of Puerto Rico while moving in a general westward track, which it would maintain for much of its duration. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) initiated Dvorak classifications on the cyclone at 0000 UTC on January 19, assessing a Dvorak number of T2.5, suggesting both tropical and subtropical characteristics. On the same day, the pressure gradient between the storm and the ridge produced gale-force winds. By early on January 20, the storm maintained minimal convection near its center, with its primary
rainband A rainband is a cloud and precipitation structure associated with an area of rainfall which is significantly elongated. Rainbands can be stratiform or convective, and are generated by differences in temperature. When noted on weather radar im ...
revolved in a cyclonic formation around its well-defined center. Later that day, the storm strengthened into a subtropical storm and attained peak winds of , supported by both ship and Hurricane Hunters reports. After the storm maintained peak winds for about 36 hours, the outer rainbands to the south and east of the center began diminishing late on January 21, which began a weakening trend. At around that time, the cyclone was moving west-southwestward, and within 72 hours was forecast by one hurricane forecast model to be located over Hispaniola. By midday on January 22, the winds decreased to below gale force after the convection dissipated near the center. Subsequently, it turned more to the west away from land, and by January 23 the circulation degenerated into a remnant trough about north of the Lesser Antilles. The storm was one of six tropical or subtropical cyclones on record to be active in the month of January, and one of four to have formed in the month.


Tropical Storm Amelia

A tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa on July 19. The wave did not develop significantly while crossing the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The disturbance then entered an area of the Gulf of Mexico that was conducive to
tropical cyclogenesis Tropical cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere. The mechanisms through which tropical cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which temperate cyclogenesis occurs. Tr ...
and became a tropical depression while located about south of Brownsville, Texas on July 30. Despite its proximity to land, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Amelia on July 31 and peaked with winds of . Around that time, Amelia made landfall near
Port Isabel, Texas Port Isabel is a city in Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville combined statistical area, Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville Metrop ...
. Later on July 31, the storm weakened to a tropical depression and dissipated early the following day. Amelia affected the Texas coast for two days, causing several shipping incidents and minor damage in Corpus Christi and South Padre Island. While active, there were no deaths linked to the storm. However, the biggest impact from the storm followed its dissipation, when its remnants contributed to record rainfall totals over the state. The state, already suffering from a previous drought, believed that the rain would help alleviate the conditions. However, the dry ground aided the flooding from the storm. The rainfall caused several rivers and creeks to flood, especially around the Texas Hill Country and northern Texas, leading to severe damage. Overall, Amelia caused 33 fatalities with an estimated $110 million in damages.


Tropical Storm Bess

A low-pressure area developed in
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along a dissipating
cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Northern ...
on August 1. The system detached from the cold front and drifted southwestward, reaching northeastern Gulf of Mexico on August 3. Satellite imagery, buoys, and reconnaissance aircraft flights indicated that by August 5, the system likely acquired a closed circulation. Thus, the National Hurricane Center estimated that a tropical depression developed in the central Gulf of Mexico at 1200 UTC that day. On August 6, a reconnaissance flight into the depression resulted in an upgrade to Tropical Storm Bess, while located about southeast of Brownsville, Texas. The storm had initially headed west-southwestward at , before moving southwestward at nearly the same speed. At 1200 UTC on August 7, Bess attained its minimum barometric pressure of . Thereafter, Bess began to turn nearly due southward under the influence of a high-pressure area over southern Texas. Later on August 7, the storm reached its maximum sustained winds of . Early on August 8, Bess made landfall near
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, at the same intensity and then rapidly dissipated inland. In
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and
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, sustained winds reached only . The storm also produced heavy rainfall, peaking at in La Estrella. However, no flooding occurred and no damage or fatalities were reported. Its remnants emerged into the Pacific Ocean, leading to the formation of Hurricane Iva.


Hurricane Cora

A disturbance exited the west coast of Africa on August 4 and developed into a tropical depression about three days later, while located well east of the Lesser Antilles. On August 8, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Cora. The storm moved at an unusually high forward speed for a cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean in August, and intensified into a hurricane later that day. The hurricane was upgraded into a hurricane based solely on satellite photography, the second time this occurred. Early on August 9, it peaked with winds of . Around 0000 UTC the next day, Cora weakened to a tropical storm while moving west-southwestward. The storm made landfall on Grenada on August 11, while weakening to a tropical depression. Cora weakened further to a tropical depression, before losing its circulation and degenerating into a tropical wave on August 12. The remnant crossed over Central America into the Pacific Ocean, where it regenerated into Hurricane Kristy. Cora was an unusual cyclone, maintaining an unusually low latitude in the Atlantic in August at high speeds. While passing through the Lesser Antilles, gusty winds and light rainfall in
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and Saint Lucia. In the latter, a person died after stepping on a high tension power line that was downed in Castries. Approximately two to four percent of trees on the island were toppled. Cora was also responsible for altering weather conditions in
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, allowing for a takeoff of the historical flight of the Double Eagle II hot air balloon.


Tropical Storm Debra

A
low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
that developed over southeast
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and an area of convection near the
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merged and resulted in the formation of a tropical depression over the southern Gulf of Mexico on August 26. Tacking west-northwestward around a high-pressure ridge, the depression gradually intensified began and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Debra on August 28. Debra turned to the north and reached its peak intensity of on August 29, shortly before making landfall in southwestern Louisiana. It was a disorganized storm, with most of the convection located to the east of the center. The system weakened rapidly and dissipated over Arkansas on August 29, though its remnants continued into the
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. One person died while attempting to evacuate an oil rig to the south of
Cameron, Louisiana Cameron is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the parish seat of Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area. After sustaining extreme damage from Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane ...
. Damage caused by Debra was considered minimal. In Louisiana, rainfall peaked at in Freshwater Bayou. However, no flooding was reported. Wind impacts were light and mainly limited to down trees and damage to roofs in Lake Charles and
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
. The storm spawned several tornadoes in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas. In Mississippi, a tornado in Crystal Springs destroyed three mobile homes and a house, killing one person and seriously injuring another.


Hurricane Ella

A cold front spawned a tropical disturbance near Bermuda, which became a tropical depression on August 30. The depression strengthened, and by early on August 31, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Ella. Ship reports indicated that Ella became a hurricane later that day. Further significant intensification occurred, and the storm reached a preliminary peak intensity of . A short-wave trough over the Eastern United States caused Ella to decelerate and turn north. Simultaneously, dry air diminished convection on September 2, which in turn resulted in weakening. Eventually, another trough forced Ella to re-curve northeastward, thereby remaining well offshore the East Coast of the United States. The storm then re-intensified and by 1200 UTC on September 4, Ella peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of . Thereafter, Ella rapidly weakened as it passed offshore Atlantic Canada, before being absorbed by an extratropical storm while located more than northeast of St. John's on September 5. Ella threatened to pass within of
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. Because of this, a hurricane watch was issued for the
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of North Carolina during
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, resulting in a significant decrease in tourism. However, because the storm veered northeastward, little effects other than waves, minor beach erosion, and light winds in coastal portions of North Carolina. In Newfoundland, Ella produced rainfall amounts reaching and wind gusts up to .


Hurricane Flossie

A tropical wave passed westward across
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,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
on August 31 and entered the Atlantic Ocean later that day. Convection markedly increased over the next few days and by 0000 UTC on September 4, the wave developed into a tropical depression while located about midway between Africa and the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...
. Later that day, the ''Hong Kong Merchant'' reported tropical storm force winds, thus the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Flossie. It initially tracked northwestward at and minimal strengthening occurred, possibly due to rapid forward speeds. On September 5, the storm curved westward, until turning north on September 7. A high-pressure area transitioned into a trough, causing Flossie to re-curve northeastward and generating strong upper-level winds. On September 8, Flossie was downgraded to a tropical depression. After the trough began weakening, favorable conditions returned, allowing Flossie to re-strengthen into a tropical storm on September 10. Flossie then decelerated and became nearly stationary on September 12. Around that time, the storm was upgraded to a hurricane. Further intensification continued, and Flossie peaked with winds of early on September 13. The storm began turned nearly due northward and began weakening. Flossie accelerated to the northeast and eventually transitioned into an extratropical cyclone while north of the Azores on September 15. The strong extratropical cyclone brought winds as high as to
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,
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.


Hurricane Greta

A tropical wave developed into a tropical depression near
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on September 13. By the following day, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Greta. It headed westward to west-northwestward across the Caribbean Sea and slowly intensified, becoming a hurricane on September 16. The rate of intensification increased as Greta was approaching the northwestern Caribbean Sea. Greta briefly peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of , while brushing northeastern Honduras. Although the storm remained offshore, land interaction caused significant weakening. On September 19, Greta made landfall in Stann Creek District,
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
with winds of . The storm rapidly weakened inland over
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, but survived its passage and eventually became Hurricane Olivia in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Early in its duration, Greta produced heavy rainfall in the Netherlands Antilles. With a similar path to
Hurricane Fifi A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
four years prior, Greta threatened to reproduce the devastating effects of the catastrophic storm; however, damage and loss of life was significantly less than feared. In Honduras, about 1,200 homes were damaged, about half of which in towns along the coastline. The storm damaged about 75% of the houses on
Roatán Roatán () is an island in the Caribbean, about off the northern coast of Honduras. It is located between the islands of Utila and Guanaja, and is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. The island was formerly known in English as Ruatan ...
along the offshore
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, and there was one death in the country. In the
Belize Barrier Reef The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly offshore in the north and in the south within the country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a long section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, ...
, Greta downed trees and produced high waves, while on the mainland, there was minimal flooding despite a high storm surge. In Dangriga where it made landfall, the hurricane damaged or destroyed 125 houses and the primary hospital. In
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, a tornado flipped over a truck and damaged four houses. Damage in Belize was estimated at $25 million, and there were four deaths.


Tropical Storm Hope

A mid-tropospheric low-pressure area developed over the
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on September 10. The system developed into a subtropical depression early on September 12, while located about east of St. Augustine, Florida. Over the next few days, the depression tracked east-northeastward to eastward. While strengthening into a subtropical storm on September 15, it passed just north of Bermuda, but produced only of rain on the island. The storm then made a brief dip to the east-southeast, before resuming its east-northeastward course on September 16. Beginning on the following day, satellite imagery indicated that the system was acquiring tropical characteristics. As a result, it was reclassified as Tropical Storm Hope at 0600 UTC on September 17. Because Hope remained out of range of reconnaissance aircraft flights, the National Hurricane Center relied on ships and satellite estimates. After becoming a tropical cyclone, Hope began to accelerate while slowly intensifying. Satellite estimates at 1200 UTC on September 19 indicated that the storm attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum pressure of , recorded by the ''S.S. Banglar Mann''. While located hundreds of miles north of the Azores on September 20, the storm turned northward and began crossing into
sea surface temperatures Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mas ...
of . By 1200 UTC on September 21, Hope transitioned into an extratropical cyclone and was absorbed by another extratropical storm while situated about south of
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,
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.


Tropical Storm Irma

The origins of Tropical Storm Irma were from a subtropical depression that formed about south of the
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on October 2. During the next two days, thunderstorm activity gradually increased around the circulation center as the storm drifted northward. On October 2, the storm had taken the appearance of a
tropical storm A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dependi ...
on satellite photographs, and upper-level
anticyclonic An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined as a large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from abov ...
flow over the center of the storm was evident on satellite time-lapse movies. By the afternoon of October 4, the system had acquired the characteristics of a tropical storm and was named Irma; gale-force winds extended from the center of circulation. Six hours after being named, Irma reached its peak intensity of . On October 5, Irma turned towards the north-northeast and passed about midway between the central and western
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. Shortly thereafter, Irma became less organized, and that evening was absorbed into an approaching
cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Northern ...
, about northeast of the Azores. Although Irma passed near parts of the western and central Azores with gale-force winds in some areas, no reports of damage or casualties caused by Irma were received. Several nearby ships reported winds around . It was noted that heavy rains may have occurred on some of the mountainous islands as Irma passed.


Tropical Storm Juliet

A weak tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa on September 30. The wave moved west-northwestward and was centered well east of the Leeward Islands on October 6, when satellite imagery indicated that deep convection became much more concentrated. The following day, ship reports noted that a closed circulation was developing. The system was classified as a tropical depression beginning at 1800 UTC on October 7, while located about east of Puerto Rico. Around midday on October 8, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Juliet. After peaking with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of early on October 9, Juliet passed north of Puerto Rico. The storm brought light rainfall to the island, peaking at at Toro Negro Plant. The storm then accelerated and curved northwestward, northward, and then northeastward. On October 11, Juliet merged with a frontal zone, while located west-southwest of Bermuda. Later that day, the remnants moved across the island and produced up to of rainfall.


Hurricane Kendra

In late October, a tropical wave and an area of disturbed weather combined in the northwestern Caribbean, before crossing Puerto Rico. The system moved northwest and by late on October 28, it became a tropical depression while located about north of
Mayaguana Mayaguana (from Taíno language ''Mayaguana'', meaning "Lesser Midwestern Land") is the easternmost island and district of The Bahamas. Its population was 277 in the 2010 census. It has an area of about . About north of Great Inagua and southe ...
in The Bahamas. Early on the following day, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Kendra. The storm quickly intensified while moving either north or north-northwestward and became a hurricane late on October 29. After peaking with winds of on October 30, Kendra weakened significantly to a tropical storm in only 12 hours. Kendra continued north-northeastward or northeastward, before being absorbed by an extratropical cyclone while located west-northwest of Bermuda early on November 1. The precursor system dropped rainfall across much of southern Puerto Rico was at least , with a peak at in Pico del Este. Mudslides and flooding from the heavy precipitation left many roads impassable, washed out or collapsed several bridges, and caused considerable damage to agriculture, especially livestock. Additionally, one fatality occurred and 1,710 families fled their homes for shelters. Damage in Puerto Rico reached $6 million. A
high-pressure area A high-pressure area, high, or anticyclone, is an area near the surface of a planet where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure in the surrounding regions. Highs are middle-scale meteorological features that result from interpl ...
and Kendra combined produced strong winds and abnormally high tides along the East Coast of the United States, though no damage was reported.


Other systems

In addition to the 12 other tropical cyclones, there were several tropical depressions that developed during the season. The first of which formed over the central Gulf of Mexico on June 21. The depression moved northeastward toward Florida and strengthened slightly. It dissipated by late on June 22. Another tropical depression developed about southwest of on July 10. The system moved generally westward and intensified into a strong tropical depression, before dissipating two days later. Tropical Depression Four formed about east of
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...
on August 7. It tracked westward without significantly intensifying, and passed through the
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over
Bequia Bequia ( or ) is the second-largest island in the Grenadines at . It is part of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is approximately from the nation's capital, Kingstown, on the main island, Saint Vincent. Bequia means "island o ...
on the following day. The depression continued westward and passed near Aruba on August 9. It eventually traversed the Caribbean Sea, and made landfall to the south of
Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the capital of the former Kingdom of Mosquitia, and later the Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Regi ...
,
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
on August 11. The depression dissipated shortly thereafter. A tropical depression formed in the central Gulf of Mexico on August 9. The storm moved northward and struck southeastern Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana before dissipating the next day. By August 30, another depression developed in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. The system tracked generally eastward and avoided landfall. It dissipated around midday on September 1. Tropical Depression Eight developed over western
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around 1200 UTC on September 3. The depression initially headed west-southwestward and soon entered the Atlantic Ocean. Between late on September 4 and early on September 5, the system passed south of Cape Verde. Later that day, the storm began curving west-northwestward. By early on September 7, it was heading northwestward and then turned to the north-northwest the next day. The depression moved northward between September 9 and September 10, before re-curving to the northeast. It dissipated about of Flores Island in the
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around midday on September 11. At 1200 UTC on September 8, Tropical Depression Nine developed over the west-central Gulf of Mexico. Moving generally westward, the depression made landfall south of
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,
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, around midday on September 10. The system rapidly weakened inland and dissipated later that day. Another tropical depression formed over western Senegal on September 18. It moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean before curving west-northwestward about three days later. On September 25, the depression moved northwestward and then northward by September 28. It dissipated about east-northeast of Bermuda at 1200 UTC the following day. The next tropical depression developed in the Gulf of Mexico just offshore Campeche on September 21. Moving west-northwestward, the depression made landfall near
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on September 23, shortly before dissipating. A tropical depression formed at 1200 UTC on October 13, while located about north of
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in the Azores. The depression initially moved south-southwestward, before curving southwestward by the following day. It then turned west-northwestward on October 15. Late the next day, the depression turned abruptly northward. The system dissipated about west-northwest of Flores Island. The next tropical depression developed at 1200 UTC on October 26, while located about south-southwest of the southernmost islands of Cape Verde. It moved generally westward and dissipated about halfway between the Lesser Antilles and the west coast of Africa on October 29. The final tropical depression of the season formed about northeast of
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on November 5.


Storm names

The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic basin in 1978. Storms were named Amelia, Bess, Cora, Flossie, Hope, Irma and Juliet for the first time in 1978. This was the last year that only female names were used for Atlantic hurricanes. The name Greta was retired after the 1978 season. Names that were not assigned are marked in .


Season effects

This is a table of the storms in 1978 and their landfall(s), if any. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but are still storm-related. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical or a wave or low.


See also

*
List of Atlantic hurricanes Lists of Atlantic hurricanes, or tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean, are organized by the properties of the hurricane or by the location most affected. By property * List of Atlantic hurricane seasons *List of Atlantic hurricane records *Li ...
* Atlantic hurricane season * 1978 Pacific hurricane season * 1978 Pacific typhoon season *
1978 North Indian Ocean cyclone season The 1978 North Indian Ocean cyclone season had no bounds, but tropical cyclones in the North Indian Ocean tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November. The 1978 season produced five cyclonic storms of which developed in ...
* Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons: 1977–78, 1978–79


Notes


References


External links


WPC rainfall page for 1978 tropical cyclones

Monthly Weather Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:1978 Atlantic Hurricane Season Articles which contain graphical timelines