hurricanesmapped

WESTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP

1981 Pacific typhoon season

Every recorded track, mapped · 34 storms · 11 Mar 1981–29 Dec 1981

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY226.0
Open in the explorerExplore
1981 Pacific typhoon season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 34 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESCANADAMEXICOAFRICAEUROPECHINAJAPANPHILIPPINESINDIAGulf of MexicoPacific OceanPhilippine SeaArabian SeaBay of BengalFreda: 11 Mar–18 Mar, peak 100 kt, Category 3Gerald: 15 Apr–23 Apr, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormHolly: 29 Apr–10 May, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormIke: 8 Jun–14 Jun, peak 65 kt, Category 1June: 15 Jun–23 Jun, peak 75 kt, Category 1Kelly: 29 Jun–6 Jul, peak 75 kt, Category 1Lynn: 2 Jul–7 Jul, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormMaury: 17 Jul–19 Jul, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 20 Jul–22 Jul, no US-agency windNina: 22 Jul–24 Jul, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormOgden: 27 Jul–1 Aug, peak 65 kt, Category 1Phyllis: 31 Jul–5 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 31 Jul–2 Aug, no US-agency windRoy: 4 Aug–11 Aug, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 2 Aug–5 Aug, no US-agency windSusan: 7 Aug–14 Aug, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormWarren: 14 Aug–20 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormVanessa: 14 Aug–20 Aug, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormThad: 16 Aug–23 Aug, peak 85 kt, Category 2Agnes: 25 Aug–3 Sep, peak 95 kt, Category 2Bill: 2 Sep–7 Sep, peak 85 kt, Category 2Clara: 15 Sep–23 Sep, peak 120 kt, Category 4Doyle: 17 Sep–23 Sep, peak 80 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 22 Sep–23 Sep, no US-agency windElsie: 24 Sep–2 Oct, peak 150 kt, Category 5Unnamed: 3 Oct–5 Oct, no US-agency windFabian: 12 Oct–15 Oct, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormGay: 13 Oct–22 Oct, peak 95 kt, Category 2Unnamed: 7 Nov–10 Nov, no US-agency windHazen: 13 Nov–23 Nov, peak 100 kt, Category 3Irma: 18 Nov–26 Nov, peak 135 kt, Category 4Jeff: 22 Nov–26 Nov, peak 35 kt, Tropical stormKit: 10 Dec–22 Dec, peak 115 kt, Category 4Lee: 23 Dec–29 Dec, peak 95 kt, Category 2

Drag to pan · Pinch or Ctrl/⌘ + scroll to zoom. Keyboard: plus or minus to zoom, arrow keys to pan, and 0 to show the whole map.

Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1981 Pacific typhoon season. Column headers sort the list.
Freda–100Cat 39452,460
Gerald–60Tropical storm9802,480
Holly–45Tropical storm9961,850
Ike–65Cat 19652,040
June–75Cat 19653,840
Kelly–75Cat 19753,050
Lynn–55Tropical storm9853,410
Maury–55Tropical storm9852,540
Unnamed–—Unclassified—800
Nina–35Tropical storm9921,180
Ogden–65Cat 19751,840
Phyllis–45Tropical storm9752,600
Unnamed–—Unclassified988600
Unnamed–—Unclassified—1,740
Roy–50Tropical storm9851,510
Susan–60Tropical storm9802,130
Warren–45Tropical storm9921,100
Vanessa–55Tropical storm9803,530
Thad–85Cat 29552,630
Agnes–95Cat 29504,430
Bill–85Cat 29603,010
Clara–120Cat 49255,480
Doyle–80Cat 19651,930
Unnamed–—Unclassified—670
Elsie–150Cat 58954,260
Unnamed–—Unclassified—630
Fabian–45Tropical storm9942,120
Gay–95Cat 29504,130
Unnamed–—Unclassified—770
Hazen–100Cat 39552,910
Irma–135Cat 49054,090
Jeff–35Tropical storm10002,340
Kit–115Cat 49252,420
Lee–95Cat 29502,520

34 storms with an IBTrACS 1981 typhoon season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 11 Mar 1981, last 29 Dec 1981.

Tropical storms28

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

Typhoons16

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)6

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 51

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormElsie

150 kt · 173 mph / 278 km/h

Lowest pressure895 hPa

Elsie, 27 Sept 1981

Longest track record19.8 days

Clara, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind6

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1981 season in brief

How many typhoons were there in the 1981 Pacific typhoon season?

The archive records 16 typhoons (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 28 tropical storms, with 6 major typhoons reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1981 Pacific typhoon season?

Elsie, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 150 kt (Category 5) on 28 Sept 1981, 00:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 895 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1981?

1 storm in the 1981 Pacific typhoon season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Elsie.

When did the 1981 Pacific typhoon season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 11 Mar 1981 and the last on 29 Dec 1981, from 34 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first typhoon of the 1981 Pacific typhoon season?

Freda, which reached typhoon strength (64 kt) on 14 Mar 1981, 06:00 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 Western Pacific 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 typhoon 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 Western Pacific 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