The 1980 season

Tropical Storm Thelma (1980)

Tropical Storm Thelma peaked at 55 kt in the Western Pacific between September 25, 1980 and October 2, 1980, with a lowest pressure of 960 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Tropical Storm Thelma, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1980 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
September 25, 1980 to October 2, 1980
Peak strength
Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
Lowest pressure
960 mb (28.35 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 461 km (286 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
2.5
Identifier
WP211980

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Sep 25, 00:0015.5N 147.0E15 ktMixed
Sep 25, 06:0015.6N 146.8E15 kt1004 mbMixed
Sep 25, 12:0015.8N 146.6E15 kt1004 mbMixed
Sep 25, 18:0016.1N 146.3E15 kt1004 mbMixed
Sep 26, 00:0016.3N 146.1E20 kt1002 mbMixed
Sep 26, 06:0016.7N 145.6E25 kt1000 mbMixed
Sep 26, 12:0017.3N 145.1E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 26, 18:0017.8N 144.7E25 kt998 mbTropical storm
Sep 27, 00:0018.3N 144.3E25 kt998 mbTropical storm
Sep 27, 06:0019.2N 143.6E30 kt996 mbTropical storm
Sep 27, 12:0020.0N 143.0E30 kt996 mbTropical storm
Sep 27, 18:0020.8N 142.5E35 kt992 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 00:0021.7N 142.2E35 kt992 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 06:0023.2N 142.0E35 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 12:0024.5N 142.4E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 28, 18:0025.8N 142.9E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 00:0026.8N 143.5E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 06:0028.0N 144.2E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 12:0029.4N 144.9E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 29, 18:0030.7N 146.0E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 30, 00:0032.3N 147.9E45 kt980 mbTropical storm
Sep 30, 06:0035.2N 151.7E45 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 30, 12:0037.3N 155.8E45 kt972 mbMixed
Sep 30, 18:0044.0N 157.0E972 mbExtratropical
Oct 1, 00:0046.0N 159.0E968 mbExtratropical
Oct 1, 06:0049.0N 163.0E964 mbExtratropical
Oct 1, 12:0050.0N 165.0E960 mbExtratropical
Oct 1, 18:0051.0N 169.0E960 mbExtratropical
Oct 2, 00:0051.0N 172.0E960 mbExtratropical
Oct 2, 06:0051.0N 176.0E960 mbExtratropical
Oct 2, 12:0050.0N 180.0E964 mbExtratropical
Oct 2, 18:0050.0N 186.0EExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 1980

What this means

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Sources

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.