Typhoon Kit (1981)
Typhoon Kit reached Category 4 in the Western Pacific between December 9, 1981 and December 22, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 925 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Typhoon Kit, 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
- December 9, 1981 to December 22, 1981
- Peak strength
- Category 4, 115 kt (132 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 925 mb (27.32 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 23.1
- Identifier
- WP281981
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 9, 00:00 | 5.2N 150.4E | 15 kt | Disturbance | |
| Dec 9, 06:00 | 5.6N 149.1E | 20 kt | Disturbance | |
| Dec 9, 12:00 | 6.0N 147.8E | 20 kt | Disturbance | |
| Dec 9, 18:00 | 6.8N 146.8E | 20 kt | 1006 mb | Mixed |
| Dec 10, 00:00 | 7.9N 146.7E | 20 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 10, 06:00 | 8.5N 147.0E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 10, 12:00 | 8.9N 147.3E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 10, 18:00 | 9.3N 147.7E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 11, 00:00 | 9.8N 147.8E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 11, 06:00 | 10.2N 147.8E | 30 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 11, 12:00 | 10.4N 147.7E | 35 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 11, 18:00 | 10.7N 147.5E | 40 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 12, 00:00 | 11.0N 147.3E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 12, 06:00 | 11.2N 147.1E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 12, 12:00 | 11.5N 146.8E | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 12, 18:00 | 11.8N 146.4E | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 13, 00:00 | 12.2N 145.8E | 50 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 13, 06:00 | 12.4N 144.9E | 55 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 13, 12:00 | 12.5N 143.8E | 55 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 13, 18:00 | 12.6N 143.0E | 60 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 14, 00:00 | 12.8N 142.2E | 65 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 14, 06:00 | 13.1N 141.8E | 70 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 14, 12:00 | 13.5N 141.5E | 80 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 14, 18:00 | 14.1N 141.5E | 85 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 15, 00:00 | 14.6N 141.5E | 90 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 15, 06:00 | 14.9N 141.4E | 95 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 15, 12:00 | 15.3N 141.3E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 15, 18:00 | 15.5N 140.9E | 105 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 16, 00:00 | 15.4N 140.3E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 16, 06:00 | 15.3N 139.8E | 95 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 16, 12:00 | 15.2N 139.0E | 95 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 16, 18:00 | 15.2N 138.2E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 17, 00:00 | 15.3N 137.5E | 105 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 17, 06:00 | 15.6N 136.8E | 115 kt | 930 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 17, 12:00 | 15.9N 136.2E | 110 kt | 925 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 17, 18:00 | 16.1N 135.7E | 105 kt | 935 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 18, 00:00 | 16.2N 135.0E | 100 kt | 945 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 18, 06:00 | 16.2N 134.2E | 95 kt | 950 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 18, 12:00 | 16.1N 133.4E | 90 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 18, 18:00 | 16.0N 132.6E | 85 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 19, 00:00 | 15.9N 131.8E | 80 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 19, 06:00 | 16.1N 131.2E | 75 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 19, 12:00 | 16.4N 130.9E | 70 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 19, 18:00 | 16.5N 130.3E | 60 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 20, 00:00 | 15.9N 130.2E | 50 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 20, 06:00 | 14.9N 130.3E | 40 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 20, 12:00 | 13.8N 130.2E | 35 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 20, 18:00 | 13.0N 129.4E | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Dec 21, 00:00 | 12.2N 129.0E | 1008 mb | Mixed | |
| Dec 21, 06:00 | 10.9N 128.7E | 1008 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 21, 12:00 | 10.0N 128.0E | 1008 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 21, 18:00 | 9.4N 127.5E | 1008 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 22, 00:00 | 8.9N 127.0E | 1010 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 22, 06:00 | 8.0N 126.1E | 1008 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Dec 22, 12:00 | 7.0N 125.1E | 1008 mb | Mixed | |
| Dec 22, 18:00 | 6.5N 124.0E | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
Other Western Pacific storms of 1981
- Typhoon FredaWestern Pacific · 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 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.