Hurricane Emily (1981)
Hurricane Emily reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between August 31, 1981 and September 12, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 966 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Emily, 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.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- August 31, 1981 to September 12, 1981
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 80 kt (92 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 966 mb (28.53 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 411 km (255 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 14.9
- Fastest the center moved
- 13 kt (15 mph)
- Identifier
- AL131981
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) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 12:00 | 29.8N 72.7W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Subtropical depression |
| Aug 31, 18:00 | 29.9N 71.2W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Subtropical depression |
| Sep 1, 00:00 | 29.9N 69.7W | 35 kt | 1004 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Sep 1, 06:00 | 30.1N 68.4W | 40 kt | 1000 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Sep 1, 12:00 | 30.4N 67.3W | 40 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 1, 18:00 | 31.3N 66.6W | 45 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 2, 00:00 | 31.9N 65.9W | 50 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 2, 06:00 | 32.6N 65.1W | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 2, 12:00 | 33.3N 64.4W | 50 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 2, 18:00 | 34.1N 64.1W | 55 kt | 986 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 3, 00:00 | 35.0N 64.0W | 55 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 3, 06:00 | 36.0N 65.0W | 60 kt | 982 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 3, 12:00 | 35.0N 65.8W | 60 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 3, 18:00 | 34.2N 65.0W | 60 kt | 978 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 4, 00:00 | 34.6N 63.6W | 65 kt | 976 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 06:00 | 35.3N 62.7W | 70 kt | 974 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 12:00 | 36.2N 61.9W | 70 kt | 972 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 4, 18:00 | 37.1N 61.2W | 70 kt | 971 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 00:00 | 38.2N 60.9W | 75 kt | 970 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 06:00 | 38.6N 60.8W | 75 kt | 968 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 12:00 | 39.0N 60.8W | 75 kt | 967 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 5, 18:00 | 39.4N 59.9W | 80 kt | 966 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 6, 00:00 | 39.9N 59.0W | 80 kt | 967 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 6, 06:00 | 40.3N 58.4W | 80 kt | 968 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 6, 12:00 | 40.8N 58.0W | 80 kt | 970 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 6, 18:00 | 41.2N 57.4W | 75 kt | 971 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 7, 00:00 | 41.6N 56.8W | 75 kt | 972 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 7, 06:00 | 41.9N 55.9W | 70 kt | 974 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 7, 12:00 | 42.0N 55.0W | 70 kt | 976 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 7, 18:00 | 42.3N 54.1W | 65 kt | 978 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 8, 00:00 | 42.7N 53.4W | 60 kt | 982 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 8, 06:00 | 42.9N 52.5W | 60 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 8, 12:00 | 42.2N 51.9W | 55 kt | 986 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 8, 18:00 | 41.7N 51.2W | 55 kt | 988 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 9, 00:00 | 41.0N 50.2W | 55 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 9, 06:00 | 40.9N 49.1W | 50 kt | 991 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 9, 12:00 | 40.9N 47.9W | 50 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 9, 18:00 | 41.0N 46.9W | 50 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 00:00 | 41.2N 45.9W | 45 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 06:00 | 41.9N 45.1W | 40 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 12:00 | 42.5N 44.8W | 40 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 18:00 | 42.7N 44.0W | 40 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 11, 00:00 | 42.2N 43.3W | 40 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 11, 06:00 | 42.1N 42.7W | 35 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 11, 12:00 | 42.2N 42.0W | 35 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 11, 18:00 | 42.3N 41.5W | 30 kt | 1007 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 12, 00:00 | 42.7N 41.0W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Extratropical |
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
- Tropical Storm BretNorth 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 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.