Hurricane History Map

1981 South Pacific and Australian region season

14 storms formed in the South Pacific and Australian region basin in 1981, from 27 November 1980 to 31 March 1981.

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Years1981
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 1981 season in numbers

The record holds 14 storms for the 1981 South Pacific and Australian region season, of which 10 had names.13 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 4 reached cyclone strength (category 1 or more) and 0 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 14storms
  • 13tropical storm strength or more
  • 4cyclone strength or more
  • 0major (category 3 to 5)
  • 45accumulated 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 1981

  • Arthur (1981)11 January 1981 to 17 January 1981, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 965 hPa
  • Cliff (1981)8 February 1981 to 15 February 1981, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 970 hPa
  • Freda (1981)24 February 1981 to 9 March 1981, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 955 hPa
  • Tahmar (1981)8 March 1981 to 13 March 1981, peak Category 1 (74 kt), 970 hPa
  • Daman (1981)20 February 1981 to 24 February 1981, peak Tropical storm (63 kt), 980 hPa

All 14 storms of 1981

StormPeak
Diola Tropical storm
Arthur Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Betsy Tropical storm
Cliff Category 1
Eddie Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Daman Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Freda Category 1
Esau Tropical storm
Tahmar Category 1
Fran Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm

← 1980 · 1982 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1981

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