Super Typhoon Elsie (1981)

Basin

Western Pacific

Dates

September 22, 1981 to October 6, 1981

Peak strength

Category 5, 150 kt (173 mph)

Lowest pressure

895 mb (26.43 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

36.1

Identifier

WP221981

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.

• Typhoon FredaWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 3100 kt · 945 mb
• Tropical Storm GeraldWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm60 kt · 980 mb
• Tropical Depression GeraldWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm HollyWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm45 kt · 996 mb
• Typhoon IkeWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 165 kt · 965 mb
• Typhoon JuneWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 175 kt · 965 mb
• Typhoon KellyWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 175 kt · 975 mb
• Tropical Storm LynnWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm55 kt · 985 mb
• Tropical Storm MauryWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm55 kt · 985 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm NinaWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm35 kt · 992 mb
• Typhoon OgdenWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 165 kt · 975 mb
• Tropical Storm PhyllisWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm55 kt · 975 mb
• Unnamed tropical stormWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm40 kt · 988 mb
• Tropical Storm RoyWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm50 kt · 985 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm SusanWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm60 kt · 980 mb
• Tropical Storm WarrenWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm45 kt · 992 mb
• Tropical Storm VanessaWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm55 kt · 980 mb
• Typhoon ThadWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 285 kt · 955 mb
• Typhoon AgnesWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 295 kt · 950 mb
• Typhoon BillWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 285 kt · 960 mb
• Typhoon ClaraWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 4120 kt · 925 mb
• Typhoon DoyleWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 180 kt · 965 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm FabianWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm45 kt · 994 mb
• Typhoon GayWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 295 kt · 950 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Depression
• Typhoon HazenWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 3100 kt · 955 mb
• Super Typhoon IrmaWestern Pacific · 1981 · 595 deathsCat 4135 kt · 905 mb
• Tropical Storm JeffWestern Pacific · 1981Tropical Storm35 kt · 1000 mb
• Typhoon KitWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 4115 kt · 925 mb
• Typhoon LeeWestern Pacific · 1981Cat 295 kt · 950 mb

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.

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.