1981 Pacific hurricane season
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| First storm formed: | May 30, 1981 |
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| Last storm dissipated: | October 30, 1981 |
| Strongest storm: | Norma - 110 knots (204 km/h) |
| Total storms: | 15 |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+): | 1 |
| Total damage: | 134+ million |
| Total fatalities: | 79+ |
| Pacific hurricane seasons 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 |
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The 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.
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[edit] Storms
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.
[edit] Tropical Storm Adrian
Adrian made landfall in Oaxaca as a depression on June 4. It dissipated shortly thereafter.
[edit] Tropical Storm Calvin
Calvin briefly threatened Baja California Sur.
[edit] Tropical Storm Irwin
Irwin made landfall in Baja California Sur as a depression. It crossed the southern tip of the peninsula and dissipated in the open sea.
[edit] Hurricane Jova
Jova 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.
[edit] Tropical Storm Knut
Knut made landfall near Mazatlán on September 21 and dissipated shortly after that.
[edit] Tropical Storm Lidia
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| Lidia rainfall image and storm path | |
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On 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 60 miles (97 km) 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.
[edit] Hurricane Norma
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| Norma rainfall image and storm path | |
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A 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 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.[1] There were also several weak tornadoes. Damage totaled 50 million dollars in Texas.
[edit] Hurricane Otis
The 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.
[edit] 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.
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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.
[edit] See also
- List of tropical cyclones
- 1981 Atlantic hurricane season
- 1981 Pacific typhoon season
- 1980-81 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season
- 1981-82 Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season
- 1980-1984 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons
[edit] References
- DFW Hurricanes accessed November 14, 2005
- Unisys Weather archive for the Eastern Pacific, 1981 accessed November 14, 2005
- Central Pacific Hurricane Center archive accessed November 14, 2005
- New York Times report accessed January 10, 2006
- New York Times report accessed January 10, 2006
- ^ Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Hurricane Norma - October 11-14, 1981. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
[edit] External links
| 1980-89 Pacific hurricane seasons | |
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| Previous: 1979 | 1980s: 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | Next: 1990 | |
