1981 Pacific typhoon season
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The 1981 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1981, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and west of the international date line. Storms that form east of the date line and north of the equator are called hurricanes; see 1981 Pacific hurricane season. Tropical Storms formed in the entire west pacific basin were assigned a name by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Tropical depressions in this basin have the "W" suffix added to their number. Tropical depressions that enter or form in the Philippine area of responsibility are assigned a name by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA. This can often result in the same storm having two names.
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[edit] Storms
29 tropical depressions formed this year in the Western Pacific, of which 28 became tropical storms. 16 storms reached typhoon intensity, of which 2 reached super typhoon strength.
[edit] Typhoon Freda
Freda was the first tropical cyclone in the western Pacific in 1981 and the fourth typhoon to occur in March since 1959. The incipient disturbance was nearly stationary near the Gilbert Islands for a few days, before drifting northwest and slowly intensifying. During the morning of the March 11 it was upgraded to a tropical depression. It tracked along the periphery of the subtropical ridge with slow development for the next few days. On March 14 intensification became more rapid and Freda became a typhoon. Passing 120 km/75 mi west of Wake Island with 100 kt/115 mph intensity, the island sustained wind gusts to typhoon force and waves to 6 m/20 ft. As the typhoon moved more northeast, the cyclone weakened, and Freda was absorbed by March 17 into another extratropical cyclone. [1]
[edit] Typhoon Kelly
A tropical disturbance organized into a tropical depression east of the Philippines on June 28. It tracked westward, reaching tropical storm on the 30th before hitting the central Philippines. Kelly weakened over the islands, but restrengthened in the South China Sea, attaining typhoon status on July 2. The typhoon hit southern Hainan Island on the 3rd, crossed the Gulf of Tonkin as a weakening tropical storm, and made landfall on northern Vietnam on the 4th as a 40 mph tropical storm. Kelly dissipated the next day, after causing torrential flooding and mudslides, resulting in 200 casualties and leaving thousands homeless.
[edit] Typhoon Clara
The monsoon trough spawned a tropical depression on September 13 well east of the Philippines. The depression moved to the west-northwest, strengthening into a tropical storm on the 16th and a typhoon on the 18th. Clara rapidly intensified to a peak of 140 mph winds on the 19th before brushing northern Luzon on the 19th. Its circulation disrupted, Clara steadily weakened as it continued to the northwest, hitting southeast China on the 21st as an 80 mph typhoon. Clara caused extensive damage and loss of life, leaving thousands homeless from the heavy rains.
[edit] Super Typhoon Irma
- Main article: Typhoon Irma (1981)
Super Typhoon Irma developed from the near-equatorial trough on November 17. As a tropical depression, it headed westward, and steadily intensified, first to a tropical storm on the 19th, later to a typhoon on the 20th. Irma quickly strengthened on the 22nd to a 155 mph super typhoon, but its outflow was disrupted by the Philippines to the southwest. Irma hit the northern Philippines on the 24th as a 95 mph typhoon, and rapidly weakened over the country. As a weakened tropical storm, Irma turned northeastward, where it was absorbed by a cold front on the 27th. More than 200 fatalities and $9 million in damage (1981 USD) can be attributed to the typhoon.
[edit] 1981 storm names
Western North Pacific tropical cyclones were named by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The first storm of 1981 was named Freda and the final one was named Lee. The name Hazen was removed from the list after this season for no particular reason.
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