Hurricane History Map

1971 South-West Indian season

21 storms formed in the South-West Indian basin in 1971, from 16 September 1970 to 29 March 1971.

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Years1971
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

The 1971 season in numbers

The record holds 21 storms for the 1971 South-West Indian season, of which 21 had names.3 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 1 reached cyclone strength (category 1 or more) and 0 were major (category 3 or more). 18 have no wind speed in the record.

  • 21storms
  • 3tropical storm strength or more
  • 1cyclone strength or more
  • 0major (category 3 to 5)
  • 5accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 1971

  • Sheila:sophie (1971)29 January 1971 to 6 February 1971, peak Category 1 (70 kt)
  • Mavis (1971)23 March 1971 to 29 March 1971, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 975 hPa
  • Rita (1971)22 January 1971 to 30 January 1971, peak Tropical storm (45 kt)

All 21 storms of 1971

StormPeak
Andree Unknown intensity
Betsy Unknown intensity
Andrea:claudine Unknown intensity
Carmen Unknown intensity
Dominique:hilary Unknown intensity
Janet Unknown intensity
Loris Unknown intensity
Edith Unknown intensity
Ginette:myrtle Unknown intensity
Felicie Unknown intensity
Polly Unknown intensity
Rita Tropical storm
Sheila:sophie Category 1
Helga Unknown intensity
Iphigenie:tilly Unknown intensity
Joelle Unknown intensity
Kalinka Unknown intensity
Lise:yvonne Unknown intensity
Maggie:muriel Unknown intensity
Nelly Unknown intensity
Mavis Tropical storm

← 1970 · 1972 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1971

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