The 1981 season

Typhoon Clara (1981)

Typhoon Clara reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between September 13, 1981 and October 2, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 925 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Clara, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1981 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 13, 1981 to October 2, 1981
Peak strength
Category 4, 120 kt (138 mph)
Lowest pressure
925 mb (27.32 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
14.3
Fastest the center moved
36 kt (41 mph)
Identifier
WP201981

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 13, 00:009.9N 150.4EDisturbance
Sep 13, 06:009.9N 148.6EDisturbance
Sep 13, 12:009.9N 146.9EDisturbance
Sep 13, 18:009.9N 144.9E15 kt1004 mbMixed
Sep 14, 00:009.9N 144.2E15 kt1004 mbMixed
Sep 14, 06:0010.0N 143.4E15 kt1004 mbMixed
Sep 14, 12:0010.1N 142.5E20 kt1004 mbMixed
Sep 14, 18:0010.3N 141.5E20 kt1004 mbMixed
Sep 15, 00:0010.5N 140.5E20 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 06:0011.1N 139.5E25 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 12:0011.8N 138.7E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Sep 15, 18:0012.3N 137.3E25 kt998 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 00:0012.4N 135.8E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 06:0012.5N 134.7E30 kt996 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 12:0012.5N 133.7E30 kt996 mbTropical storm
Sep 16, 18:0012.7N 132.7E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Sep 17, 00:0012.8N 131.8E35 kt994 mbTropical storm
Sep 17, 06:0013.3N 131.0E35 kt992 mbTropical storm
Sep 17, 12:0013.5N 130.2E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Sep 17, 18:0013.8N 129.5E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Sep 18, 00:0014.2N 128.8E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 18, 06:0014.7N 128.0E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 18, 12:0015.2N 127.1E75 kt970 mbTropical storm
Sep 18, 18:0015.7N 126.3E75 kt960 mbTropical storm
Sep 19, 00:0016.4N 125.4E90 kt955 mbTropical storm
Sep 19, 06:0017.1N 124.5E95 kt930 mbTropical storm
Sep 19, 12:0017.8N 123.7E115 kt925 mbTropical storm
Sep 19, 18:0018.3N 122.9E120 kt930 mbTropical storm
Sep 20, 00:0018.8N 122.1E120 kt940 mbTropical storm
Sep 20, 06:0019.2N 121.2E110 kt950 mbTropical storm
Sep 20, 12:0019.7N 120.3E90 kt960 mbTropical storm
Sep 20, 18:0020.1N 119.3E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 00:0020.7N 118.5E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 06:0021.1N 117.8E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 12:0021.8N 116.9E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Sep 21, 18:0022.6N 116.0E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 00:0023.6N 115.2E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 06:0024.6N 113.9E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Sep 22, 12:0025.3N 112.7E20 kt1004 mbMixed
Sep 22, 18:0025.5N 114.0E1004 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 00:0026.0N 114.0E1006 mbTropical storm
Sep 23, 06:0028.0N 115.0E1006 mbExtratropical
Sep 23, 12:0030.5N 118.0E1008 mbExtratropical
Sep 23, 18:0032.0N 120.0E1006 mbExtratropical
Sep 24, 00:0033.5N 122.0E1006 mbExtratropical
Sep 24, 06:0034.5N 124.5E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 24, 12:0035.5N 127.5E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 24, 18:0035.5N 129.0E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 25, 00:0036.0N 132.0E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 25, 06:0036.0N 133.0E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 25, 12:0036.0N 133.5E1004 mbExtratropical
Sep 25, 18:0036.0N 134.0E1000 mbExtratropical
Sep 26, 00:0036.0N 134.5E1000 mbExtratropical
Sep 26, 06:0036.0N 137.0E1000 mbExtratropical
Sep 26, 12:0036.0N 138.0E1000 mbExtratropical
Sep 26, 18:0037.0N 141.0E998 mbExtratropical
Sep 27, 00:0038.0N 142.0E996 mbExtratropical
Sep 27, 06:0040.0N 145.0E992 mbExtratropical
Sep 27, 12:0041.5N 146.0E990 mbExtratropical
Sep 27, 18:0043.0N 147.0E990 mbExtratropical
Sep 28, 00:0045.0N 148.0E988 mbExtratropical
Sep 28, 06:0046.5N 148.0E988 mbExtratropical
Sep 28, 12:0048.0N 148.0E984 mbExtratropical
Sep 28, 18:0050.0N 148.0E984 mbExtratropical
Sep 29, 00:0051.0N 147.5E988 mbExtratropical
Sep 29, 06:0051.5N 147.0E988 mbExtratropical
Sep 29, 12:0052.5N 146.5E988 mbExtratropical
Sep 29, 18:0053.5N 146.0E992 mbExtratropical
Sep 30, 00:0054.0N 146.0E996 mbExtratropical
Sep 30, 06:0054.0N 146.0E996 mbExtratropical
Sep 30, 12:0054.5N 146.0E996 mbExtratropical
Sep 30, 18:0054.5N 146.0E996 mbExtratropical
Oct 1, 00:0054.5N 146.0E996 mbExtratropical
Oct 1, 06:0054.5N 147.0E1000 mbExtratropical
Oct 1, 12:0054.5N 148.0E1000 mbExtratropical
Oct 1, 18:0054.5N 148.5E1000 mbExtratropical
Oct 2, 00:0054.5N 149.0E1004 mbExtratropical
Oct 2, 06:0055.0N 149.5E1008 mbExtratropical
Oct 2, 12:0055.5N 150.0E1008 mbExtratropical
Oct 2, 18:0056.0N 150.0E1008 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 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.