1981 Atlantic hurricane season
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 Season summary map |
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| First storm formed: | May 6, 1981 |
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| Last storm dissipated: | November 17, 1981 |
| Strongest storm: | Harvey - 946 mbar (27.94 inHg), 135 mph (215 km/h) |
| Total storms: | 12 |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+): | 3 |
| Total damage: | $15 million (1981 USD) $33.6 million (2005 USD) |
| Total fatalities: | 2 |
| Atlantic hurricane seasons 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 |
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The 1981 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1981, and lasted until November 30, 1981. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin.
No storms were particularly destructive this season. Hurricane Dennis caused millions of dollars in damage in Dade County, Florida. Hurricane Katrina was the only storm that caused fatalities, killing two and caused widespread flood damage in Cuba's Camagüey province.
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[edit] Seasonal activity
The 1981 season was high in activity with twelve storms forming. The season began extremely early, as Tropical Storm Arlene formed on May 6, before the season started. Arlene made landfall in Cuba, being absorbed by a low later. Tropical Storm Bret formed as a subtropical low in the open Atlantic Ocean. Bret made landfall in the Delmarva Penninsula, becoming the first storm to do such. Tropical Storm Cindy formed on August 2 in the open Atlantic. Cindy was declared extratropical on August 5. Hurricane Dennis formed on August 7 near South America. Dennis degenerated into a depression while making landfall in the Leeward Islands. Dennis was able to regain storm strength while over Cuba. Dennis again made landfall in Florida, retaining storm strength. Dennis then made landfall in Virginia, and was briefly a hurricane. Dennis weakened into a tropical storm and was declared extratropical on August 22.
Hurricane Emily formed on September 1 southeast of Bermuda. Emily made a cyclonic loop as a tropical storm. Emily strengthened into a hurricane out in the North Atlantic Ocean and bySeptember 12, was no longer identifiable. Hurricane Floyd was a Category 3 hurricane that grazed Bermuda, but no damage was report. Hurricane Gert formed September 8, strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane, and followed the same track as Floyd, dissipating near the Azores. Hurricane Harvey became the strongest storm of the season, reaching Category 4 strength. Harvey never affected land, but ships reported tropical storm-force winds. Hurricane Irene was yet another fishspinner, reaching Category 3 strength and was extratropical in early October. The extratropical Irene made landfall in France.
Tropical Storm Jose was a short-lived storm forming out in the open Atlantic in late October. Jose never affected land and dissipated on November 1 near the Azores. Hurricane Katrina formed in the Carribean Sea, made landfall in Cuba after reaching hurricane strength. Katrina was the only storm with fatalities. The final storm of the season, Subtropical Storm Three, formed in the Atlantic Ocean on November 12 and moved north, making landfall in Nova Scotia. Three was declared extratropical soon after.
[edit] Storms
[edit] Tropical Storm Arlene
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| Arlene satellite picture and storm track | |
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Arlene combined several unusual features into one storm. It formed on May 6, well before the beginning of the normal hurricane season. It developed out of a disturbance that moved from the Pacific Ocean across Central America into the Caribbean Sea, an occurrence that rarely occurs. As the disturbance tracked northeast across the western Caribbean, it became a tropical depression, then on May 7 reached tropical storm strength near the Cayman Islands.
Arlene struck eastern Cuba on the night of the 7th, and the passage over land weakened it to a depression. It restrengthened briefly over the southeastern Bahamas, but weakened again and was absorbed by another system. Reported damage was minimal.
[edit] Tropical Storm Bret
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| Bret satellite picture and storm track | |
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Bret formed out of a subtropical low roughly 150 miles off the coast of North Carolina. The storm moved west-northwest, striking land in southern Maryland on July 1. Bret weakened significantly just before landfall, and reported winds were below gale force. No significant damage was reported. Bret is the first tropical storm to make landfall on the Delmarva Peninsula.
[edit] Tropical Storm Cindy
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| Cindy satellite picture and storm track | |
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A subtropical depression that developed along a cold front organized into Tropical Storm Cindy on August 2, in the open Atlantic midway between Bermuda and Nova Scotia. Cindy tracked east-northeast until it became extratropical on August 5 as it moved over colder water. The storm never affected land and caused no known damage.
[edit] Hurricane Dennis
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| Dennis satellite picture and storm track | |
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Dennis began as Cape Verde-type hurricanes typically do. A tropical wave leaving the coast of Africa on August 5 developed into Tropical Storm Dennis on the 7th near Cape Verde. Unlike most such storms, Dennis degenerated to a tropical wave before reaching the Windward Islands. This wave crossed the Caribbean, passing over Jamaica before reaching the southwestern coast of Cuba on August 15.
Once near Cuba, the wave began rapid organization, restrengthening into a tropical storm. It crossed Cuba, then moved into southern Florida. Over Florida, steering currents weakened and the storm stalled. On August 19, Tropical Storm Dennis reemerged over water, skimming the coasts of the Carolinas before accelerating out to sea. Dennis reached hurricane strength before becoming extratropical on the 22nd.
Most damage associated with Dennis was from the heavy rainfall caused by its slow passage over Florida. The highest amount registered was near Homestead, Florida, where 25.56 inches of rain was measured. Agriculture damage in Dade County, Florida was estimated at $15 million (1981 dollars). Coastal areas of the Carolinas were also affected by heavy rainfall, with spots seeing over 10 inches, as well as minor beach erosion.
[edit] Hurricane Emily
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| Emily satellite picture and storm track | |
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On September 1, a subtropical storm became Tropical Storm Emily southwest of Bermuda. Emily moved northeast, crossing the island the next day, but measured winds were below tropical storm force. The storm continued generally northeast and strengthened into a hurricane. Hurricane Emily weakened over the north Atlantic and was no longer identifiable as a weather system by September 12.
Hurricane Emily caused beach erosion across the East Coast of the United States, but no other damage was reported.
[edit] Hurricane Floyd
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| Floyd satellite picture and storm track | |
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Floyd was first tracked as a tropical depression on September 3 when it organized east of the Leeward Islands. As the depression moved northwest, it caused heavy rain. The highest rainfall reported was 5.7 inches (14.5 cm) at Antigua. It strengthened into a tropical storm, then reached hurricane strength on the 7th.
Floyd turned to the northeast, and passed just southeast of Bermuda as a weakening hurricane. As a tropical storm, Floyd moved east across the Atlantic until losing its identity on September 12.
No damages are associated with Floyd. Although Bermuda was directly affected, the island experienced the weaker half of the storm.
[edit] Hurricane Gert
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| Gert satellite picture and storm track | |
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A tropical depression became Tropical Storm Gert on September 8, roughly 115 miles east of Guadeloupe. Gert passed through the eastern Leeward Islands during the next few hours, but no significant winds were recorded. The next day, Gert's center moved across eastern Puerto Rico where it caused moderate to heavy rainfall.
Much of the storm's circulation moved over the Dominican Republic, and it reached the southeastern Bahamas before turning northward. Gert continued turning, and simultaneously strengthened. On September 12, Gert passed just north of Bermuda, but only light winds were recorded on the island. The storm was weakening, and accelerated on an east-northeast path. Its circulation dissipated on September 15 in the vicinity of the Azores.
No significant damage was reported to be caused by Hurricane Gert.
[edit] Hurricane Harvey
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| Harvey satellite picture and storm track | |
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Harvey formed in the central Atlantic, reaching hurricane strength only a few hours after first becoming a named system on September 12. From its initial position several hundred miles east of the Leeward Islands, Harvey moved northwest. Its path began curving more to the north, and was considered a threat to Bermuda until the continuing curve took Harvey away from the island. Harvey's track became more easterly, and the storm weakened and became extratropical as it approached the Azores.
Harvey caused no reported damage, although several ships reported experiencing tropical storm force winds.
[edit] Hurricane Irene
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| Irene satellite picture and storm track | |
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Irene became a named storm midway between the Windward Islands and Cape Verde on September 23, and its track mimicked that of Hurricane Harvey. The storm tracked northwest, becoming a hurricane on the 25th. Its track then began curving to the east, eventually resulting in motion to the northeast.
The storm weakened and became extratropical in early October. The remaining extratropical storm moved over France on October 3.
[edit] Tropical Storm Jose
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| Jose satellite picture and storm track | |
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Jose was a weak and short-lived tropical storm that formed far from land on October 29. It moved generally northeast before becoming subtropical and then dissipating on November 1 near the Azores.
[edit] Hurricane Katrina
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| Katrina satellite picture and storm track | |
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A tropical depression formed on November 3 in the western Caribbean Sea about 150 miles south of the Cayman Islands. The depression moved north, reaching tropical storm strength as it moved through the Caymans. Katrina continued to strengthen, reaching hurricane strength half a day before landfall in Cuba. A weakening Katrina moved across eastern Cuba on November 6. After emerging over water, the storm accelerated northeast through the Bahamas. Katrina's circulation fell apart, and the storm merged with a front on November 8.
Hurricane Katrina is reported to have killed two and caused widespread flood damage in Cuba's Camagüey province. Katrina was the only storm responsible for fatalities in 1981.
[edit] Subtropical Storm Three
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| Three satellite picture and storm track | |
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A frontal low over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream organized into an subtropical storm on November 12 while 400 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida. After moving northeastward, it turned to the northwest, threatening the northeastern United States as an intensifying subtropical storm that was gradually developing tropical characteristics. A high pressure system turned it to the northeast, and after peaking at 70 mph it became extratropical near Nova Scotia on the 17th. The storm produced significant beach erosion and coastal flooding.
[edit] Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
| ACE (104kt2) – Storm: Source | |||||
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| 1 | 22.2 | Irene | 7 | 4.19 | Katrina |
| 2 | 16.4 | Harvey | 8 | 1.62 | Jose |
| 3 | 14.9 | Emily | 9 | 1.52 | Cindy |
| 4 | 13.8 | Floyd | 10 | 1.33 | Bret |
| 5 | 10.1 | Gert | 12 | 0.735 | Arlene |
| 6 | 6.38 | Dennis | 13 | 0.000 | Subtrop 3 |
| Total= 93.2578 (93) | |||||
The table on the right shows the ACE for each storm in the season. The ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed for, so hurricanes that lasted a long time have higher ACEs.
[edit] 1981 storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1981. No names were retired, so it was used again in the 1987 season. It was the first use for all of these names since the post-1978 naming change, except for Arlene, Cindy and Irene which had been previously used in 1959, 1963, 1967, and 1971. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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[edit] Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes
Due to lack of major damage from the storms, the WMO did not retire any names in 1981. They were used again in 1987.
