The 1981 season

Typhoon Thad (1981)

Typhoon Thad reached Category 2 in the Western Pacific between August 15, 1981 and August 25, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Thad, 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.

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The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
August 15, 1981 to August 25, 1981
Peak strength
Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
Lowest pressure
955 mb (28.20 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
14.1
Fastest the center moved
45 kt (52 mph)
Identifier
WP151981

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)PositionWindPressureStatus
Aug 15, 00:0017.7N 128.9EDisturbance
Aug 15, 06:0017.9N 129.6EDisturbance
Aug 15, 12:0018.1N 130.2E1000 mbMixed
Aug 15, 18:0018.2N 130.9E998 mbMixed
Aug 16, 00:0018.7N 131.6E996 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 06:0019.1N 131.6E35 kt994 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 12:0019.6N 131.8E35 kt992 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 18:0020.0N 131.9E40 kt992 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 00:0020.3N 132.2E40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 06:0020.2N 132.8E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 12:0020.4N 133.1E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 18:0020.9N 133.2E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 00:0021.5N 133.2E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 06:0022.4N 133.3E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 12:0023.0N 133.5E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 18:0023.8N 133.8E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 00:0024.2N 134.0E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 06:0024.7N 134.3E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 12:0025.1N 134.5E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 19, 18:0025.6N 134.8E85 kt955 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 00:0025.8N 135.2E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 06:0026.2N 135.7E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 12:0026.5N 136.0E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 20, 18:0027.2N 136.3E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 00:0027.8N 136.8E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 06:0028.6N 137.2E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 12:0029.1N 137.4E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 21, 18:0029.6N 137.5E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 00:0030.2N 137.5E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 06:0031.0N 137.9E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 12:0032.4N 138.3E70 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 22, 18:0034.7N 139.6E70 kt965 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 00:0037.6N 140.3E60 kt964 mbTropical storm
Aug 23, 06:0041.9N 140.8E50 kt964 mbMixed
Aug 23, 12:0046.8N 141.5E45 kt970 mbMixed
Aug 23, 18:0049.3N 140.7E40 kt974 mbExtratropical
Aug 24, 00:0050.8N 141.3E984 mbExtratropical
Aug 24, 06:0052.8N 140.5E984 mbExtratropical
Aug 24, 12:0055.0N 140.2E984 mbExtratropical
Aug 24, 18:0056.0N 140.0E988 mbExtratropical
Aug 25, 00:0056.0N 138.0E990 mbExtratropical

Other Western Pacific storms of 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.