Cyclone Felix path, 1981

What the record says

Felix was a cyclone in the South-West Indian basin that lasted about 9 days, from 22 December 1980 to 31 December 1980. Its peak was Category 4 (114 kt) on 26 December 1980, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 114 kt (131 mph, 211 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 940 hPa.

• Category 4peak intensity
• 114 ktpeak wind (131 mph)
• 940 hPalowest pressure
• 9 dayslifetime

Source of the peak wind: Australian Bureau of Meteorology, converted from a 10-minute wind to a 1-minute equivalent. The regional forecast centre (Australian Bureau of Meteorology) gave a peak of 100 kt on its own averaging convention (10-minute winds), so the two figures differ.

It has its own page because it reached category 4 or stronger.

This page gives the official record's figures. It does not describe the human cost of the storm, which is far larger than any wind speed or pressure here.

Where it came ashore

• 23 December 1980: Indonesia (40 kt)

A landfall here is the first tropical position over land after time at sea, so it is within about six hours of the real event. The record shows up to 8.

Countries it came within 50 km of

Strongest effect first.

• Indonesia

How to read this track

The line joins the storm's six-hourly positions with straight lines, coloured by its intensity at each point, so it shows how the storm strengthened and weakened. The real path curved between the positions. A dashed grey stretch means the storm had become post-tropical. Records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are estimates.

Source: NOAA NCEI IBTrACS, public domain. See data sources and caveats.