Tropical Storm Gaelle (1981)

Basin

South Indian

Dates

January 14, 1981 to January 18, 1981

Peak strength

Tropical Storm, 45 kt (52 mph)

Landfall

No; closest approach 1718 km (1068 mi)

Accumulated cyclone energy

1.5

Identifier

SH111981

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.

• Cyclone Adelaide:AliceSouth Indian · 1981Cyclone105 kt · 940 mb
• Tropical Depression BettinaSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Depression
• Tropical Depression Bert:ChristeSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm CarolSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Storm55 kt · 980 mb
• Cyclone CarolSouth Indian · 1981Cyclone110 kt · 940 mb
• Tropical Storm DanSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Storm50 kt · 985 mb
• Tropical Depression DianaSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm EdnaSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Storm40 kt · 994 mb
• Cyclone FelixSouth Indian · 1981Cyclone100 kt · 940 mb
• Tropical Depression EdwigSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Depression
• Cyclone FlorineSouth Indian · 1981Cat 3105 kt
• Cyclone MabelSouth Indian · 1981Cat 3100 kt · 930 mb
• Tropical Depression GaelleSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Depression
• Tropical Storm HelyetteSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Storm45 kt
• Tropical Storm IadineSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Storm55 kt
• Cyclone NeilSouth Indian · 1981Cat 3100 kt · 940 mb
• Cyclone JohanneSouth Indian · 1981Cat 180 kt
• Tropical Storm KlaraSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Storm40 kt
• Cyclone OlgaSouth Indian · 1981Cat 4120 kt · 940 mb
• Tropical Storm LisaSouth Indian · 1981Tropical Storm40 kt
• Tropical Storm PaddySouth Indian · 1981Tropical Storm35 kt · 973 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.