Cyclone Max path, 1981

What the record says

Max was a cyclone in the South-West Indian basin that lasted about 9 days, from 10 March 1981 to 19 March 1981. Its peak was Category 3 (100 kt) on 16 March 1981, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 100 kt (115 mph, 185 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 960 hPa.

• Category 3peak intensity
• 100 ktpeak wind (115 mph)
• 960 hPalowest pressure
• 9 dayslifetime

Source of the peak wind: US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (southern hemisphere). The regional forecast centre (Australian Bureau of Meteorology) gave a peak of 85 kt on its own averaging convention (10-minute winds), so the two figures differ.

It has its own page because it reached category 3 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

• 11 March 1981: Australia (15 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.

• Ashmore and Cartier Islands
• Australia

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.