Hurricane History Map

1981 Western North Pacific season

34 storms formed in the Western North Pacific basin in 1981, from 11 March 1981 to 29 December 1981.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

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 34 storms for the 1981 Western North Pacific season, of which 28 had names.29 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 16 reached typhoon strength (category 1 or more) and 6 were major (category 3 or more). 5 have no wind speed in the record.

  • 34storms
  • 29tropical storm strength or more
  • 16typhoon strength or more
  • 6major (category 3 to 5)
  • 234accumulated 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

  • Elsie (1981)22 September 1981 to 6 October 1981, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 895 hPa
  • Irma (1981)15 November 1981 to 27 November 1981, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 905 hPa
  • Clara (1981)13 September 1981 to 2 October 1981, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 925 hPa
  • Kit (1981)9 December 1981 to 22 December 1981, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 925 hPa
  • Freda (1981)11 March 1981 to 18 March 1981, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 945 hPa

All 34 storms of 1981

StormPeak
Freda Category 3
Gerald Tropical storm
Holly Tropical storm
Ike Category 1
June Category 1
Kelly Category 1
Lynn Tropical storm
Maury Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Nina Tropical storm
Ogden Category 1
Phyllis Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Roy Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Susan Tropical storm
Vanessa Tropical storm
Warren Tropical storm
Thad Category 2
Agnes Category 2
Bill Category 2
Clara Category 4
Doyle Category 1
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Elsie Category 5
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Fabian Tropical storm
Gay Category 2
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Hazen Category 3
Irma Category 4
Jeff Tropical storm
Kit Category 4
Lee Category 2

← 1980 · 1982 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1981

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.