Tropical Storm Vanessa (1981)
Tropical Storm Vanessa peaked at 55 kt in the Western Pacific between August 14, 1981 and August 23, 1981, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb.
Radar
Reflectivity now over Tropical Storm Vanessa. 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
- Western Pacific
- Dates
- August 14, 1981 to August 23, 1981
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 55 kt (63 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 980 mb (28.94 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 208 km (129 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 2.7
- Identifier
- WP161981
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 06:00 | 17.0N 142.0E | Disturbance | ||
| Aug 14, 12:00 | 18.0N 142.5E | Disturbance | ||
| Aug 14, 18:00 | 19.0N 143.5E | Tropical storm | ||
| Aug 15, 00:00 | 20.0N 145.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Aug 15, 06:00 | 20.0N 146.5E | Tropical storm | ||
| Aug 15, 12:00 | 20.5N 148.5E | Tropical storm | ||
| Aug 15, 18:00 | 20.7N 150.4E | Tropical storm | ||
| Aug 16, 00:00 | 21.8N 152.2E | 998 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 16, 06:00 | 23.8N 154.6E | 25 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 16, 12:00 | 25.2N 155.4E | 30 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 16, 18:00 | 26.5N 156.7E | 40 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 17, 00:00 | 27.4N 158.2E | 50 kt | 990 mb | XX |
| Aug 17, 06:00 | 28.3N 159.2E | 55 kt | 985 mb | XX |
| Aug 17, 12:00 | 29.3N 160.3E | 50 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 17, 18:00 | 30.2N 161.3E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 00:00 | 31.1N 162.2E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 06:00 | 31.9N 163.6E | 45 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 12:00 | 32.8N 165.0E | 45 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 18, 18:00 | 33.7N 166.0E | 45 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 00:00 | 34.6N 166.4E | 45 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 06:00 | 35.6N 166.9E | 40 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 12:00 | 37.4N 166.5E | 40 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 19, 18:00 | 38.7N 166.4E | 40 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 20, 00:00 | 40.0N 165.8E | 996 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 20, 06:00 | 41.3N 165.5E | 996 mb | Mixed | |
| Aug 20, 12:00 | 43.0N 165.8E | 994 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 20, 18:00 | 45.5N 166.0E | 994 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 21, 00:00 | 47.5N 165.0E | 994 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 21, 06:00 | 49.5N 164.8E | 994 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 21, 12:00 | 51.8N 165.5E | 994 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 21, 18:00 | 53.8N 167.2E | 988 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 22, 00:00 | 55.8N 169.0E | 988 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 22, 06:00 | 57.0N 170.0E | 988 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 22, 12:00 | 58.0N 171.0E | 988 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 22, 18:00 | 58.0N 172.0E | 988 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 23, 00:00 | 58.0N 174.0E | 988 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 23, 06:00 | 58.0N 177.0E | 988 mb | Extratropical | |
| Aug 23, 12:00 | 58.0N 180.0E | 988 mb | Extratropical |
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
- 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 KitWestern 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.