1981 Pacific hurricane season

Infobox hurricane season
Basin=EPac
Year=1981
Track=1981 Pacific hurricane season map.png First storm formed=May 30, 1981
Last storm dissipated=October 30, 1981
Strongest storm name=Norma
Strongest storm pressure=
Strongest storm winds=110
Average wind speed=1
Total depressions=17
Total storms=15
Total hurricanes=8
Total intense=1
Fatalities=At least 79
Da

Inflated=1
five seasons=1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983The 1981 Pacific hurricane season officially started May 15, 1981 in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, 1981 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1981. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.

__TOC__

torms

Activity this season was about average. There were fifteen named storms, eight hurricanes, and one major hurricane that reached Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. No storms formed in the central Pacific. There are also at least two tropical depressions that did not strengthen into storms.

Tropical Storm Adrian

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Adrian 1981 track.pngFormed=May 30
Dissipated=June 4
1-min winds=40Adrian made landfall in Oaxaca as a depression on June 4. It dissipated shortly thereafter.

Hurricane Beatriz

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Beatriz 1981 track.pngFormed=June 28
Dissipated=July 4
1-min winds=75

Tropical Storm Calvin

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Calvin 1981 track.pngFormed=July 4
Dissipated=July 9
1-min winds=45Calvin briefly threatened Baja California Sur.

Hurricane Dora

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Dora 1981 track.pngFormed=July 10
Dissipated=July 16
1-min winds=80

Tropical Storm Eugene

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Eugene 1981 track.pngFormed=July 16
Dissipated=July 21
1-min winds=45

Tropical Depression Six-E

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Formed=August 4
Dissipated=August 5
1-min winds=30This cyclone lasted only 24 hours.

Hurricane Fernanda

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Fernanda 1981 track.pngFormed=August 6
Dissipated=August 13
1-min winds=90

Hurricane Greg

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Greg 1981 track.pngFormed=August 13
Dissipated=August 22
1-min winds=65

Tropical Depression Nine-E

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Formed=August 19
Dissipated=August 20
1-min winds=30This was a short-lived storm off the tip of Baja California.

Hurricane Hilary

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Hilary 1981 track.pngFormed=August 21
Dissipated=August 28
1-min winds=75

Tropical Storm Irwin

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Irwin 1981 track.pngFormed=August 27
Dissipated=August 31
1-min winds=45Irwin made landfall in Baja California Sur as a depression. It crossed the southern tip of the peninsula and dissipated in the open sea.

Hurricane Jova

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Jova 1981 track.pngFormed=September 14
Dissipated=September 21
1-min winds=75Jova started out as Tropical Depression Twelve-E. After crossing into the central Pacific at Category 1 intensity, it approached the Hawaiian Islands. It turned north and rapidly decayed. Its only effect on the Hawaiian Islands was to disrupt the trade winds, which caused an increase in humidity.

Tropical Storm Knut

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Knut 1981 track.pngFormed=September 19
Dissipated=September 21
1-min winds=55Knut made landfall near Mazatlán on September 21 and dissipated shortly after that.

Tropical Storm Lidia

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Lidia 1981 track.pngFormed=October 6
Dissipated=October 8
1-min winds=45On October 6, a tropical depression formed and strengthened into a tropical storm 6 hours later. Lidia brushed the Gulf of California coast of Baja California Sur and made landfall convert|60|mi|km|0 north of Mazatlán in Sinaloa on October 8. Lidia rapidly weakened and dissipated October 8.

Lidia brought extremely heavy rains. Low-lying areas were swamped with floods, which burst two dams. A total of seventy-three deaths were reported, mostly due to drowning. Eleven of the deaths occurred in Culiacan. Many of the deaths were in rural areas.

Tropical Storm Max

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Max 1981 track.pngFormed=October 7
Dissipated=October 10
1-min winds=45

Hurricane Norma

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Norma 1981 track.pngFormed=October 8
Dissipated=October 12
1-min winds=110A tropical depression organized on October 8. The next day, it strengthened into a tropical storm and later a hurricane. Norma moved slowly to the northwest and strengthened into a Category 3 major hurricane, which made it the strongest storm of the year. The storm recurved and accelerated to the northeast on October 11 and weakened to a Category 2. The next day, Norma made landfall near Mazatlán on October 12 and lost tropical characteristics. The hurricane's remnants kept moving northeastward and entered the United States. They crossed central Texas before finally dissipating.

Despite being significantly stronger than Lidia, Norma caused only one death when a fisherman drowned when his boat capsized in the storm. The low death toll is likely due to evacuations. Antonio Toledo Corro, the Governor of Sinaloa, declared a state of emergency.

The hurricane caused more devastation in the flood-ravaged region. Agriculture was disrupted, and cattle were killed. Norma caused 84 million (1981 USD) dollars of damage in Mexico combined with Lidia.

In the United States, winds caused damage near Dallas-Fort Worth. Five people drowned in Tarrant County because of freshwater flooding caused by up to 21.01 inches (534 mm) of rainfall. [Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. [http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/norma1981.html Hurricane Norma - October 11-14, 1981.] Retrieved on 2007-01-04.] There were also several weak tornadoes. Damage totaled 50 million dollars in Texas.

Hurricane Otis

Infobox Hurricane Small
Basin=EPac
Track=Otis 1981 track.pngFormed=October 24
Dissipated=October 30
1-min winds=75The parade of landfalls close to Mazatlán ended with Otis. After taking a somewhat erratic path and brushing the coast of Jalisco, Otis made landfall near Mazatlán as a tropical storm and dissipated October 30.

1981 storm names

The following names were used for named storms that formed in the eastern Pacific in 1981. No names were retired, so it was used again in the 1987 season. This is the first time these names have been used since the modern naming system began. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.

The central Pacific used names and numbers from the western Pacific's typhoon list. No names or numbers were used. This is the last season to use that scheme. Next year, a new list of Hawaiian names was utilized for the first time.

ee also

*List of Pacific hurricanes
*List of Pacific hurricane seasons
*1981 Atlantic hurricane season
*1981 Pacific typhoon season
*1981 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
*Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons: 1980–81, 1981–82

References

* [http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/texashurricane.htm DFW Hurricanes] accessed November 14, 2005
* [http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/e_pacific/1981/index.html Unisys Weather archive for the Eastern Pacific, 1981] accessed November 14, 2005
* [http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/pages/hurrclimate.php#1981 Central Pacific Hurricane Center archive] accessed November 14, 2005
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E6DF1339F937A25753C1A967948260 New York Times report] accessed January 10, 2006
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E1DA1239F933A25753C1A967948260 New York Times report] accessed January 10, 2006

External links

* [http://ams.allenpress.com/archive/1520-0493/110/7/pdf/i1520-0493-110-7-839.pdf Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones of 1981]
* [http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/summaries/1981.php CPHC Season Summary]
* [http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/e_pacific/1981/index.html Unisys Weather archive for the Eastern Pacific, 1981]