Unnamed tropical storm (1981)
Unnamed tropical storm peaked at 50 kt in the South Pacific between February 16, 1981 and February 21, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 985 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Unnamed tropical storm. 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
- South Pacific
- Dates
- February 16, 1981 to February 21, 1981
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 50 kt (58 mph), ten-minute wind
- Lowest pressure
- 985 mb (29.09 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 177 km (110 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.8
- Identifier
- 1981047S18181
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 16, 00:00 | 18.0S 179.0W | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 16, 06:00 | 18.9S 178.0W | Not reported | ||
| Feb 16, 12:00 | 19.7S 176.7W | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 16, 18:00 | 20.2S 174.9W | Not reported | ||
| Feb 17, 00:00 | 20.4S 173.0W | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 17, 06:00 | 20.3S 171.4W | Not reported | ||
| Feb 17, 12:00 | 20.1S 170.0W | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 17, 18:00 | 20.0S 168.9W | Not reported | ||
| Feb 18, 00:00 | 19.8S 168.0W | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 18, 06:00 | 19.5S 167.1W | Not reported | ||
| Feb 18, 12:00 | 19.2S 166.0W | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 18, 18:00 | 19.1S 164.5W | Not reported | ||
| Feb 19, 00:00 | 19.5S 163.0W | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 19, 06:00 | 20.3S 161.6W | Not reported | ||
| Feb 19, 12:00 | 22.0S 160.4W | 50 kt | 985 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 19, 18:00 | 24.9S 159.0W | Not reported | ||
| Feb 20, 00:00 | 28.0S 158.0W | 45 kt | 987 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 20, 06:00 | 30.1S 157.9W | Not reported | ||
| Feb 20, 12:00 | 32.0S 158.0W | 40 kt | 990 mb | Not reported |
| Feb 20, 18:00 | 34.0S 157.7W | Not reported | ||
| Feb 21, 00:00 | 36.0S 157.0W | 30 kt | 997 mb | Not reported |
Other South Pacific storms of 1981
- Tropical Storm DiolaSouth Pacific · 1981
- Cyclone ArthurSouth Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm BetsySouth Pacific · 1981
- Cyclone CliffSouth Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm EddieSouth Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm DamanSouth Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth Pacific · 1981
- Cyclone FredaSouth Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm EsauSouth Pacific · 1981
- Cyclone TahmarSouth Pacific · 1981
- Cyclone MaxSouth Pacific · 1981
- Tropical Storm FranSouth Pacific · 1981
- Unnamed tropical stormSouth 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. This storm’s winds are ten-minute averages from its regional agency. They read about 12 percent lower than the one-minute winds US agencies use, so a Saffir-Simpson category is not given for it.
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.