Tropical Storm Esau (1981)
Tropical Storm Esau peaked at 50 kt in the South Pacific between March 1, 1981 and March 5, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Tropical Storm Esau. 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
- South Pacific
- Dates
- March 1, 1981 to March 5, 1981
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 50 kt (58 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 980 mb (28.94 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 109 km (68 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 2.2
- Identifier
- SH211981
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 06:00 | 6.2S 176.1E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 1, 12:00 | 8.1S 176.8E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 1, 18:00 | 9.5S 178.2E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 2, 00:00 | 10.4S 179.7W | 40 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 2, 06:00 | 11.0S 177.6W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 2, 12:00 | 11.3S 175.5W | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 2, 18:00 | 11.8S 173.5W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 3, 00:00 | 12.8S 171.6W | 50 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 06:00 | 13.9S 169.8W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 3, 12:00 | 15.1S 168.2W | 50 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 18:00 | 16.4S 166.8W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 4, 00:00 | 18.0S 194.5E | 45 kt | 987 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 06:00 | 19.2S 195.5E | Not reported | ||
| Mar 4, 12:00 | 20.5S 196.5E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 4, 18:00 | 21.6S 197.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 5, 00:00 | 23.0S 198.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 06:00 | 25.7S 199.3E | Not reported | ||
| Mar 5, 12:00 | 29.0S 201.0E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 1981
- Tropical Storm DiolaSouth Pacific · 1981
- Cyclone ArthurSouth Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm BetsySouth Pacific · 1981
- Cyclone CliffSouth Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm EddieSouth Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm DamanSouth Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1981
- Cyclone FredaSouth Pacific · 1981
- Cyclone TahmarSouth Pacific · 1981
- Cyclone MaxSouth Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm FranSouth Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 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.