Hurricane Gert (1981)
Hurricane Gert reached Category 2 in the North Atlantic between September 7, 1981 and September 15, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 988 mb, and made landfall.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Hurricane Gert. 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
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- September 7, 1981 to September 15, 1981
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 988 mb (29.18 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 10.1
- Fastest the center moved
- 32 kt (37 mph)
- Identifier
- AL151981
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7, 00:00 | 14.8N 54.0W | 25 kt | 1013 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 7, 06:00 | 14.9N 55.7W | 30 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 7, 12:00 | 15.1N 57.4W | 30 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 7, 18:00 | 15.3N 59.0W | 30 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 8, 00:00 | 15.6N 60.6W | 40 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 8, 06:00 | 16.1N 62.3W | 45 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 8, 12:00 | 16.8N 64.0W | 50 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 8, 18:00 | 17.8N 65.4W | 50 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 9, 00:00 | 18.9N 66.9W | 45 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 9, 06:00 | 19.6N 68.3W | 40 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 9, 12:00 | 20.3N 70.0W | 35 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 9, 18:00 | 21.3N 71.7W | 35 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 00:00 | 22.1N 72.8W | 40 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 06:00 | 22.7N 73.7W | 50 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 12:00 | 23.7N 74.5W | 60 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 10, 18:00 | 24.8N 74.4W | 70 kt | 996 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 11, 00:00 | 26.3N 73.9W | 80 kt | 993 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 11, 06:00 | 27.7N 73.0W | 85 kt | 990 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 11, 12:00 | 29.0N 72.0W | 90 kt | 988 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 11, 18:00 | 30.2N 70.9W | 90 kt | 988 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 12, 00:00 | 31.5N 69.6W | 90 kt | 989 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 12, 06:00 | 32.5N 68.5W | 90 kt | 990 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 12, 12:00 | 33.4N 67.1W | 85 kt | 992 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 12, 18:00 | 34.1N 65.6W | 70 kt | 997 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 13, 00:00 | 34.9N 63.5W | 60 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 06:00 | 35.8N 60.7W | 55 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 12:00 | 36.8N 57.0W | 50 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 18:00 | 37.7N 53.2W | 45 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 00:00 | 38.3N 49.4W | 40 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 06:00 | 38.8N 45.6W | 40 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 12:00 | 39.2N 41.9W | 35 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 18:00 | 39.6N 38.6W | 30 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 15, 00:00 | 39.9N 35.3W | 30 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 15, 06:00 | 40.1N 33.0W | 25 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 15, 12:00 | 40.3N 30.7W | 25 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 15, 18:00 | 40.5N 28.2W | 20 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
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 EmilyNorth Atlantic · 1981
- Hurricane FloydNorth 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.