Hurricane History Map

1881 North Atlantic season

14 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 1881, from 26 July 1881 to 8 December 1881.

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Years1881
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 1881 season in numbers

The record holds 14 storms for the 1881 North Atlantic season, of which 0 had names.7 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 4 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 0 were major (category 3 or more). 7 have no wind speed in the record.

  • 14storms
  • 7tropical storm strength or more
  • 4hurricane strength or more
  • 0major (category 3 to 5)
  • 60accumulated 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 1881

  • Unnamed storm of August 1881 (North Atlantic)21 August 1881 to 30 August 1881, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 970 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1881 (North Atlantic)3 September 1881 to 11 September 1881, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 975 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1881 (North Atlantic)11 August 1881 to 21 August 1881, peak Category 1 (80 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of August 1881 (North Atlantic)16 August 1881 to 22 August 1881, peak Category 1 (70 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of September 1881 (North Atlantic)18 September 1881 to 24 September 1881, peak Tropical storm (60 kt)

All 14 storms of 1881

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Category 1
Unnamed storm Category 2
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Category 2
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity
Unnamed storm Unknown intensity

← 1880 · 1882 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1881

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