Hurricane Katrina (1981)
Hurricane Katrina reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between November 3, 1981 and November 7, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Katrina, 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
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- November 3, 1981 to November 7, 1981
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 980 mb (28.94 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 4.2
- Fastest the center moved
- 29 kt (33 mph)
- Identifier
- AL211981
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 3, 00:00 | 16.9N 81.2W | 25 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 3, 06:00 | 17.2N 81.3W | 25 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 3, 12:00 | 17.5N 81.4W | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 3, 18:00 | 17.8N 81.4W | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 4, 00:00 | 18.1N 81.4W | 30 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 4, 06:00 | 18.3N 81.4W | 35 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 4, 12:00 | 18.6N 81.3W | 40 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 4, 18:00 | 18.9N 81.2W | 50 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 5, 00:00 | 19.2N 81.1W | 60 kt | 993 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 5, 06:00 | 19.6N 80.8W | 65 kt | 988 mb | Hurricane |
| Nov 5, 12:00 | 20.0N 80.5W | 75 kt | 980 mb | Hurricane |
| Nov 5, 18:00 | 20.4N 80.1W | 70 kt | 988 mb | Hurricane |
| Nov 6, 00:00 | 20.9N 79.5W | 65 kt | 996 mb | Hurricane |
| Nov 6, 06:00 | 21.6N 78.3W | 55 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 6, 12:00 | 22.4N 77.0W | 50 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 6, 18:00 | 23.2N 75.5W | 45 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 7, 00:00 | 24.0N 73.3W | 40 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 7, 06:00 | 25.0N 70.6W | 40 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 7, 12:00 | 25.9N 67.5W | 40 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 7, 18:00 | 26.8N 64.5W | 40 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
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 GertNorth 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
- 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.