Typhoon Freda (1981)
Typhoon Freda reached Category 3 in the Western Pacific between March 11, 1981 and March 18, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 945 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Typhoon Freda. 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
- Western Pacific
- Dates
- March 11, 1981 to March 18, 1981
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 945 mb (27.91 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 1816 km (1128 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 11.4
- Identifier
- WP011981
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 11, 00:00 | 2.8N 172.8E | Disturbance | ||
| Mar 11, 06:00 | 3.8N 171.7E | Disturbance | ||
| Mar 11, 12:00 | 4.7N 170.5E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 11, 18:00 | 5.6N 169.3E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 12, 00:00 | 6.2N 168.2E | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 06:00 | 6.5N 167.5E | 35 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 12:00 | 6.9N 166.8E | 35 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 12, 18:00 | 7.4N 165.9E | 40 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 00:00 | 8.1N 164.9E | 40 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 06:00 | 9.0N 164.0E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 12:00 | 9.9N 163.1E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 18:00 | 10.7N 162.3E | 55 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 14, 00:00 | 11.7N 161.9E | 60 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 14, 06:00 | 12.7N 161.4E | 65 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 14, 12:00 | 13.7N 161.2E | 65 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 14, 18:00 | 14.8N 161.4E | 75 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 15, 00:00 | 15.6N 161.9E | 85 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 15, 06:00 | 16.9N 162.8E | 95 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 15, 12:00 | 18.3N 164.0E | 95 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 15, 18:00 | 19.3N 165.0E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 16, 00:00 | 20.2N 165.9E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 16, 06:00 | 21.3N 167.0E | 95 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 16, 12:00 | 22.4N 168.1E | 85 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 16, 18:00 | 23.6N 169.2E | 75 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 17, 00:00 | 24.8N 170.3E | 65 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 17, 06:00 | 25.7N 171.6E | 60 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 17, 12:00 | 26.6N 173.0E | 50 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 17, 18:00 | 27.4N 174.3E | 45 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 18, 00:00 | 29.0N 176.0E | 45 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 18, 06:00 | 31.3N 179.5E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
Other Western Pacific storms of 1981
- Tropical Storm GeraldWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Depression GeraldWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm HollyWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon IkeWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon JuneWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon KellyWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm LynnWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm MauryWestern Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm NinaWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon OgdenWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm PhyllisWestern Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical stormWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm RoyWestern Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm SusanWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm WarrenWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm VanessaWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon ThadWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon AgnesWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon BillWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon ClaraWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon DoyleWestern Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1981
- Super Typhoon ElsieWestern Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm FabianWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon GayWestern Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon HazenWestern Pacific · 1981
- Super Typhoon IrmaWestern Pacific · 1981 · 595 deaths
- Tropical Storm JeffWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon KitWestern Pacific · 1981
- Typhoon LeeWestern 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.