Hurricane History Map

1961 Eastern and central Pacific season

11 storms formed in the Eastern and central Pacific basin in 1961, from 9 June 1961 to 12 November 1961.

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Years1961
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 1961 season in numbers

The record holds 11 storms for the 1961 Eastern and central Pacific season, of which 10 had names.10 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 2 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 0 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 11storms
  • 10tropical storm strength or more
  • 2hurricane strength or more
  • 0major (category 3 to 5)
  • 25accumulated 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 1961

  • Iva (1961)9 June 1961 to 12 June 1961, peak Category 1 (75 kt)
  • Tara (1961)10 November 1961 to 12 November 1961, peak Category 1 (75 kt)
  • Joanne (1961)10 July 1961 to 12 July 1961, peak Tropical storm (45 kt)
  • Liza (1961)15 July 1961 to 19 July 1961, peak Tropical storm (45 kt)
  • Kathleen (1961)14 July 1961 to 16 July 1961, peak Tropical storm (45 kt)

All 11 storms of 1961

StormPeak
Iva Category 1
Joanne Tropical storm
Kathleen Tropical storm
Liza Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Naomi Tropical storm
Orla Tropical storm
Pauline Tropical storm
Rebecca Tropical storm
Simone Tropical storm
Tara Category 1

← 1960 · 1962 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1961

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