hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

1981 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 22 storms · 6 Apr 1981–17 Nov 1981

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY100.3
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1981 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 22 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESCANADAMEXICOCUBABRAZILAFRICAEUROPECHINAJAPANINDIAGulf of MexicoAtlantic OceanPacific OceanArabian SeaBay of BengalUnnamed: 6 Apr–7 Apr, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 19 Apr–21 Apr, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionArlene: 6 May–9 May, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 3 Jun–5 Jun, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 17 Jun–19 Jun, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionBret: 30 Jun–1 Jul, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 2 Jul–4 Jul, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 25 Jul–26 Jul, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionCindy: 3 Aug–5 Aug, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormDennis: 7 Aug–21 Aug, peak 70 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 17 Aug–21 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 26 Aug–29 Aug, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionEmily: 1 Sep–11 Sep, peak 80 kt, Category 1Floyd: 3 Sep–12 Sep, peak 100 kt, Category 3Gert: 7 Sep–15 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Harvey: 11 Sep–19 Sep, peak 115 kt, Category 4Unnamed: 12 Sep–14 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionIrene: 21 Sep–2 Oct, peak 105 kt, Category 3Unnamed: 26 Sep–4 Oct, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionJose: 29 Oct–1 Nov, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormKatrina: 3 Nov–7 Nov, peak 75 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 12 Nov–17 Nov, no US-agency wind

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1981 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—230
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—470
Arlene–50Tropical storm999810
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—700
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—400
Bret–60Tropical storm996690
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—640
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—430
Cindy–50Tropical storm1002950
Dennis–70Cat 19955,120
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—1,580
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—530
Emily–80Cat 19662,330
Floyd–100Cat 39752,990
Gert–90Cat 29883,950
Harvey–115Cat 49462,940
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—610
Irene–105Cat 39594,760
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—2,960
Jose–45Tropical storm9981,400
Katrina–75Cat 19801,180
Unnamed–—Unclassified—920

22 storms with an IBTrACS 1981 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 6 Apr 1981, last 17 Nov 1981.

Tropical storms12

Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 34 kt or more

Hurricanes7

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)3

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 50

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormHarvey

115 kt · 132 mph / 213 km/h

Lowest pressure946 hPa

Harvey, 15 Sept 1981

Longest track record14.8 days

Dennis, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind1

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1981 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1981 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 7 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 12 tropical storms, with 3 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1981 Atlantic hurricane season?

Harvey, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 115 kt (Category 4) on 15 Sept 1981, 00:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 946 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1981?

None. No storm in the 1981 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.

When did the 1981 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 6 Apr 1981 and the last on 17 Nov 1981, from 22 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1981 Atlantic hurricane season?

Dennis, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 20 Aug 1981, 18:00 UTC.

METHODOLOGY

Data sources and limitations

The map and totals are generated from NOAA’s IBTrACS v04r01 archive. A storm belongs to this page when the archive lists it in the North Atlantic basin for the 1981 season, so a December storm whose track ends in January stays with its season. Storms that cross between basins appear on the page of their archive basin only.

Counts use US-agency one-minute winds during the tropical stage: 34 kt for a tropical storm, 64 kt for hurricane strength and 96 kt for major intensity, on the Saffir–Simpson scale in every basin. Local agencies classify storms differently, and official season summaries can differ from the archive. Accumulated cyclone energy sums squared winds at six-hourly synoptic times, counting observations in the calendar year. Storms with no US-agency wind are mapped but cannot enter the counts.

The map frame is the same for every North Atlantic season, so a track that leaves it is cut at the edge. Lines show each storm’s center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Coastlines use Natural Earth’s 1:10m land data.

Archive retrieved

NOAA IBTrACS archive · Field documentation

Sources & methodology