Tropical Storm Gerald (1981)
Tropical Storm Gerald peaked at 60 kt in the Western Pacific between April 12, 1981 and April 23, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Gerald, 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
- Western Pacific
- Dates
- April 12, 1981 to April 23, 1981
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 60 kt (69 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 980 mb (28.94 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 967 km (601 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 3.2
- Identifier
- WP021981
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 00:00 | 4.0N 161.8E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 12, 06:00 | 4.3N 161.0E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 12, 12:00 | 4.6N 160.3E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 12, 18:00 | 4.9N 159.7E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 13, 00:00 | 5.3N 159.2E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 13, 06:00 | 5.7N 158.8E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 13, 12:00 | 6.0N 158.5E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 13, 18:00 | 6.1N 158.0E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 14, 00:00 | 6.1N 157.5E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 14, 06:00 | 5.7N 157.1E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 14, 12:00 | 5.4N 156.5E | Disturbance | ||
| Apr 14, 18:00 | 5.8N 155.6E | 20 kt | Disturbance | |
| Apr 15, 00:00 | 5.7N 154.7E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Mixed |
| Apr 15, 06:00 | 5.6N 153.8E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | Mixed |
| Apr 15, 12:00 | 5.7N 152.9E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 15, 18:00 | 5.9N 152.0E | 35 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 16, 00:00 | 6.3N 151.1E | 45 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 16, 06:00 | 7.5N 149.5E | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 16, 12:00 | 8.1N 147.8E | 60 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 16, 18:00 | 8.4N 146.4E | 55 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 17, 00:00 | 9.0N 146.0E | 50 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 17, 06:00 | 9.9N 145.9E | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 17, 12:00 | 11.0N 145.8E | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 17, 18:00 | 11.7N 145.8E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 18, 00:00 | 12.2N 145.8E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 18, 06:00 | 12.8N 145.9E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 18, 12:00 | 13.4N 146.1E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 18, 18:00 | 13.9N 146.5E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 19, 00:00 | 14.6N 147.1E | 35 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 19, 06:00 | 15.3N 146.8E | 30 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 19, 12:00 | 15.4N 145.7E | 30 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 19, 18:00 | 14.7N 145.7E | 25 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 20, 00:00 | 15.3N 146.2E | 25 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 20, 06:00 | 15.5N 145.5E | 45 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Apr 20, 12:00 | 16.1N 145.1E | 998 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 20, 18:00 | 17.0N 145.0E | 1000 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 21, 00:00 | 17.6N 145.1E | 1004 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 21, 06:00 | 18.3N 145.3E | 1004 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 21, 12:00 | 19.1N 145.5E | 1004 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 21, 18:00 | 19.9N 146.0E | 1004 mb | Mixed | |
| Apr 22, 00:00 | 20.7N 146.5E | 1008 mb | Mixed | |
| Apr 22, 06:00 | 21.6N 147.1E | 1010 mb | Mixed | |
| Apr 22, 12:00 | 22.3N 148.0E | 1010 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 22, 18:00 | 23.0N 148.8E | 1010 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 23, 00:00 | 23.5N 150.0E | 1010 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 23, 06:00 | 24.2N 151.3E | 1010 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 23, 12:00 | 24.6N 153.0E | 1012 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Apr 23, 18:00 | 25.0N 155.0E | 1012 mb | Tropical storm |
Other Western Pacific storms of 1981
- Typhoon FredaWestern 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.