Tropical Storm Bret (1981)
Tropical Storm Bret peaked at 60 kt in the North Atlantic between June 29, 1981 and July 1, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 996 mb, and made landfall.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Tropical Storm Bret. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.
Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- June 29, 1981 to July 1, 1981
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 60 kt (69 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 996 mb (29.41 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 1.3
- Fastest the center moved
- 24 kt (28 mph)
- Identifier
- AL061981
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.
Rainfall
The Weather Prediction Center attributes 917 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 4.48 inches (114 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| BIG MEADOWS | 4.48 in (114 mm) | 38.53N 78.43W |
| PATOKA | 4.40 in (112 mm) | 38.77N 89.05W |
| CLOSPLINT 4 ESE | 4.17 in (106 mm) | 36.88N 83.02W |
| SNOWSHOE | 3.73 in (95 mm) | 38.42N 80.00W |
| HILLSBORO | 3.63 in (92 mm) | 39.20N 83.62W |
| BEREA COLLEGE | 3.58 in (91 mm) | 37.57N 84.28W |
| EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIV | 3.43 in (87 mm) | 37.75N 84.33W |
| MARTINSBURG E WV RGNL | 3.37 in (86 mm) | 39.40N 77.98W |
| CAMPBELLSVILLE 2 SSW | 3.30 in (84 mm) | 37.32N 85.37W |
| XENIA TREATMENT PLANT | 3.07 in (78 mm) | 39.72N 83.97W |
| PENNINGTON GAP | 2.98 in (76 mm) | 36.73N 83.00W |
| BEREA 1 W | 2.98 in (76 mm) | 37.57N 84.33W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29, 12:00 | 36.0N 65.0W | 35 kt | 1012 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Jun 29, 18:00 | 36.0N 67.0W | 45 kt | 1007 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Jun 30, 00:00 | 36.0N 69.0W | 55 kt | 1003 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Jun 30, 06:00 | 36.0N 71.0W | 60 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jun 30, 12:00 | 36.0N 72.5W | 60 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jun 30, 18:00 | 36.2N 73.8W | 60 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 1, 00:00 | 36.6N 74.7W | 50 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 1, 06:00 | 37.4N 76.0W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 1, 12:00 | 38.5N 78.5W | 20 kt | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Tropical Storm ArleneNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Tropical Storm CindyNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Hurricane DennisNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Hurricane EmilyNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Hurricane FloydNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Hurricane GertNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Hurricane HarveyNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Hurricane IreneNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Tropical Storm JoseNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Hurricane KatrinaNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Unnamed tropical stormNorth Atlantic · 1981
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.
The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.