Track map & timeline · Atlantic · September 13–20, 1978
TD TS Cat 1 2 3 4 5 · dashed = post-tropical / remnant low. Click any point or table row to jump there.
01 · The story
Hurricane Greta (1978) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1978 Atlantic season. It formed on September 13, 1978, 32 mi NNW of Güiria, Venezuela, reached its peak of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 947 mb on September 18, 1978, and never made landfall. It rapidly intensified by 35 mph in 24 hours (to 127 mph on September 18, 1978). The storm lasted 6.3 days and travelled about 2,120 miles (3,410 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Impact
| City | Distance to center | When (UTC) | Storm strength then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumaná, Venezuela | 64 mi | Sep 13 · 22:00 UTC | TD 29 mph |
| Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico | 67 mi | Sep 19 · 21:00 UTC | TD 35 mph |
| Tuxtla, Chiapas, Mexico | 72 mi | Sep 19 · 23:00 UTC | TD 35 mph |
Distance from the city to the storm’s center, interpolated hourly between official fixes. Damaging winds, surge and rain reach far beyond the center.
04 · Timeline
| Date · UTC | Status | Wind | Pressure | Position | Nearest place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 13 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 11.0°N 62.5°W | 32 mi NNW of Güiria, Venezuela |
| Sep 14 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | — | 11.5°N 64.5°W | 46 mi NW of Juan Griego, Venezuela |
| Sep 14 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 12.0°N 66.0°W | 105 mi N of Higuerote, Venezuela |
| Sep 14 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | — | 12.5°N 67.5°W | 57 mi ENE of Kralendijk, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba |
| Sep 14 18:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1004 mb | 13.0°N 69.0°W | 51 mi N of Bandabou, Curacao |
| Sep 15 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 13.3°N 70.4°W | 56 mi NNW of Noord, Aruba |
| Sep 15 06:00 | TS | 46 mph | — | 13.4°N 71.7°W | 126 mi WNW of Noord, Aruba |
| Sep 15 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | — | 13.5°N 73.1°W | 136 mi N of Riohacha, Colombia |
| Sep 15 18:00 | TS | 58 mph | 1000 mb | 13.7°N 74.2°W | 170 mi N of Santa Marta, Colombia |
| Sep 16 00:00 | TS | 63 mph | 995 mb | 13.8°N 75.3°W | open ocean |
| Sep 16 06:00 | TS | 69 mph | — | 13.8°N 76.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 16 12:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 989 mb | 14.0°N 77.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 16 18:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | — | 14.3°N 78.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 17 00:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 982 mb | 14.6°N 79.6°W | open ocean |
| Sep 17 06:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | — | 14.9°N 80.5°W | 180 mi NNE of San Andrés, Colombia |
| Sep 17 12:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 974 mb | 15.2°N 81.6°W | 144 mi NE of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua |
| Sep 17 18:00 | Cat 2 | 109 mph | 968 mb | 15.5°N 82.6°W | 114 mi NNE of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua |
| Sep 18 00:00 | Cat 3 | 127 mph | 952 mb | 15.6°N 83.4°W | 73 mi E of Brus Laguna, Honduras |
| Sep 18 06:00 | Cat 4 | 132 mph | 947 mb | 15.8°N 84.3°W | 13 mi ENE of Brus Laguna, Honduras |
| Sep 18 12:00 | Cat 3 | 121 mph | 957 mb | 16.4°N 85.6°W | 37 mi N of Limón, Honduras |
| Sep 18 18:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 964 mb | 16.6°N 86.9°W | 58 mi N of La Ceiba, Honduras |
| Sep 19 00:00 | Cat 2 | 109 mph | 964 mb | 17.0°N 88.2°W | 35 mi S of Belize City, Belize |
| Sep 19 06:00 | TS | 58 mph | — | 17.0°N 89.4°W | 17 mi WSW of Melchor de Mencos, Guatemala |
| Sep 19 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 16.7°N 90.7°W | 38 mi ESE of Nueva Palestina, Chiapas, Mexico |
| Sep 19 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 16.0°N 92.0°W | 19 mi SSE of Comitán, Chiapas, Mexico |
| Sep 20 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | — | 15.7°N 93.0°W | 14 mi E of Pijijiapan, Chiapas, Mexico |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
No — the NOAA best-track record shows no landfall for Greta. Its closest approach to a major city was 64 miles from Cumaná, Venezuela.
At its peak on September 18, 1978, Greta was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a central pressure of 947 mb.
6.3 days, from September 13, 1978 to September 20, 1978, including 66 hours at hurricane strength (24 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 2,120 miles.
The 6-hourly positions, winds, pressure and wind radii are available as CSV on this page (track.csv) — they come from the NOAA National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database and are in the public domain.
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