Hurricane History Map

1981 Eastern and central Pacific season

15 storms formed in the Eastern and central Pacific basin in 1981, from 30 May 1981 to 30 October 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 15 storms for the 1981 Eastern and central Pacific season, of which 15 had names.15 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 8 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 1 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 15storms
  • 15tropical storm strength or more
  • 8hurricane strength or more
  • 1major (category 3 to 5)
  • 73accumulated 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

  • Norma (1981)8 October 1981 to 12 October 1981, peak Category 3 (110 kt)
  • Fernanda (1981)6 August 1981 to 13 August 1981, peak Category 2 (90 kt)
  • Dora (1981)10 July 1981 to 16 July 1981, peak Category 1 (80 kt)
  • Beatriz (1981)28 June 1981 to 4 July 1981, peak Category 1 (75 kt)
  • Hilary (1981)21 August 1981 to 28 August 1981, peak Category 1 (75 kt)

All 15 storms of 1981

StormPeak
Adrian Tropical storm
Beatriz Category 1
Calvin Tropical storm
Dora Category 1
Eugene Tropical storm
Fernanda Category 2
Greg Category 1
Hilary Category 1
Irwin Tropical storm
Jova Category 1
Knut Tropical storm
Lidia Tropical storm
Max Tropical storm
Norma Category 3
Otis Category 1

← 1980 · 1982 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1981

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