Track map & timeline · Atlantic · August 7–22, 1981
TD TS Cat 1 2 3 4 5 · dashed = post-tropical / remnant low. Click any point or table row to jump there.
01 · The story
Hurricane Dennis (1981) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1981 Atlantic season. It formed on August 7, 1981, 340 mi SSW of Praia, Cabo Verde, reached its peak of 81 mph (130 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 995 mb on August 21, 1981, and never made landfall. The storm lasted 14.8 days and travelled about 5,879 miles (9,460 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Impact
| City | Distance to center | When (UTC) | Storm strength then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston, Jamaica | 42 mi | Aug 14 · 07:00 UTC | TD 17 mph |
| New Kingston, Jamaica | 43 mi | Aug 14 · 07:00 UTC | TD 17 mph |
| Havana, Havana, Cuba | 71 mi | Aug 16 · 09:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Miami, Florida | 63 mi | Aug 17 · 12:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Hialeah, Florida | 57 mi | Aug 17 · 13:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Pembroke Pines, Florida | 61 mi | Aug 17 · 15:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 66 mi | Aug 17 · 17:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Cape Coral, Florida | 47 mi | Aug 18 · 00:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Orlando, Florida | 33 mi | Aug 18 · 23:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Jacksonville, Florida | 51 mi | Aug 19 · 09:00 UTC | TS 46 mph |
Distance from the city to the storm’s center, interpolated hourly between official fixes. Damaging winds, surge and rain reach far beyond the center.
04 · Timeline
| Date · UTC | Status | Wind | Pressure | Position | Nearest place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1009 mb | 10.5°N 25.7°W | open ocean |
| Aug 7 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1008 mb | 10.8°N 28.1°W | open ocean |
| Aug 7 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1007 mb | 11.0°N 29.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 8 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1006 mb | 11.3°N 31.3°W | open ocean |
| Aug 8 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1005 mb | 11.7°N 33.1°W | open ocean |
| Aug 8 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1004 mb | 12.0°N 35.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 8 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1003 mb | 12.5°N 36.7°W | open ocean |
| Aug 9 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1002 mb | 12.8°N 38.7°W | open ocean |
| Aug 9 06:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1001 mb | 13.1°N 40.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 9 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1001 mb | 13.3°N 43.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 9 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1001 mb | 13.5°N 45.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 10 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1001 mb | 13.5°N 47.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 10 06:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1002 mb | 13.5°N 49.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 10 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1004 mb | 13.5°N 51.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 10 18:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1006 mb | 13.6°N 52.9°W | open ocean |
| Aug 11 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1007 mb | 13.8°N 54.9°W | open ocean |
| Aug 11 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1008 mb | 14.0°N 56.5°W | open ocean |
| Aug 11 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1009 mb | 14.3°N 58.3°W | 121 mi NE of Bridgetown, Barbados |
| Aug 11 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1010 mb | 14.6°N 60.1°W | 54 mi E of Le François, Martinique |
| Aug 12 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1010 mb | 14.9°N 61.9°W | 44 mi SW of Roseau, Dominica |
| Aug 12 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1011 mb | 15.2°N 63.8°W | 148 mi WSW of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe |
| Aug 12 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1011 mb | 15.4°N 65.7°W | 173 mi SSW of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Aug 12 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1011 mb | 15.6°N 67.6°W | 179 mi SSW of Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Aug 13 00:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 15.8°N 69.5°W | 180 mi SSE of Baní, Dominican Republic |
| Aug 13 06:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 15.9°N 71.2°W | 152 mi SSE of Pedernales, Dominican Republic |
| Aug 13 12:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 16.1°N 72.8°W | 149 mi S of Jacmel, Haiti |
| Aug 13 18:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 16.4°N 74.4°W | 131 mi SSW of Les Cayes, Haiti |
| Aug 14 00:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 16.8°N 75.7°W | 110 mi SE of Kingston, Jamaica |
| Aug 14 06:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 17.4°N 77.0°W | 43 mi SSW of Kingston, Jamaica |
| Aug 14 12:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 18.0°N 78.0°W | 17 mi SSE of Savanna-la-Mar, Jamaica |
| Aug 14 18:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 18.8°N 78.8°W | 47 mi NW of Negril, Jamaica |
| Aug 15 00:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 19.5°N 79.5°W | 110 mi E of Frank Sound, Cayman Islands |
| Aug 15 06:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 20.3°N 80.0°W | 104 mi S of Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus Province, Cuba |
| Aug 15 12:00 | TD low/wave | 17 mph | — | 21.0°N 80.5°W | 64 mi SSW of Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus Province, Cuba |
| Aug 15 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1007 mb | 21.7°N 80.8°W | 38 mi SW of Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos Province, Cuba |
| Aug 16 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1005 mb | 22.4°N 81.0°W | 12 mi SE of Jagüey Grande, Matanzas Province, Cuba |
| Aug 16 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1003 mb | 23.0°N 81.2°W | near Cárdenas, Matanzas Province, Cuba |
| Aug 16 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1001 mb | 23.8°N 81.4°W | 46 mi NNW of Varadero, Matanzas Province, Cuba |
| Aug 16 18:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1000 mb | 24.5°N 81.3°W | 31 mi E of Key West, Florida |
| Aug 17 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | 998 mb | 24.9°N 81.3°W | 38 mi NE of Key West, Florida |
| Aug 17 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | 999 mb | 25.2°N 81.2°W | 49 mi WSW of Homestead, Florida |
| Aug 17 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | 999 mb | 25.8°N 81.2°W | 34 mi ESE of Marco Island, Florida |
| Aug 17 18:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1001 mb | 26.2°N 81.2°W | 20 mi SE of Immokalee, Florida |
| Aug 18 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1003 mb | 26.5°N 81.2°W | 15 mi ENE of Immokalee, Florida |
| Aug 18 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1004 mb | 26.8°N 81.1°W | 28 mi WNW of Belle Glade, Florida |
| Aug 18 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1005 mb | 27.2°N 81.0°W | 40 mi W of Port Saint Lucie, Florida |
| Aug 18 18:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1005 mb | 27.6°N 81.0°W | 28 mi ENE of Sebring, Florida |
| Aug 19 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1004 mb | 28.7°N 80.8°W | near Titusville, Florida |
| Aug 19 06:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1003 mb | 29.7°N 80.8°W | 26 mi ENE of Palm Coast, Florida |
| Aug 19 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1002 mb | 31.0°N 80.8°W | 35 mi ESE of Saint Simons Island, Georgia |
| Aug 19 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1001 mb | 32.2°N 79.9°W | 40 mi S of Charleston, South Carolina |
| Aug 20 00:00 | TS | 58 mph | 999 mb | 33.4°N 78.8°W | 21 mi SSE of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
| Aug 20 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | 998 mb | 34.7°N 77.0°W | 14 mi SSW of Havelock, North Carolina |
| Aug 20 12:00 | TS | 69 mph | 997 mb | 35.5°N 75.2°W | 80 mi SE of Elizabeth City, North Carolina |
| Aug 20 18:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 995 mb | 36.3°N 73.0°W | 170 mi ESE of Virginia Beach, Virginia |
| Aug 21 00:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 995 mb | 37.1°N 70.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 21 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | 998 mb | 37.8°N 68.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 21 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1000 mb | 38.1°N 65.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 21 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1003 mb | 38.4°N 62.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 22 00:00 | TS extratropical | 40 mph | 1005 mb | 37.8°N 59.7°W | open ocean |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
No — the NOAA best-track record shows no landfall for Dennis. Its closest approach to a major city was 33 miles from Orlando, Florida.
At its peak on August 21, 1981, Dennis was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 81 mph (130 km/h) and a central pressure of 995 mb.
14.8 days, from August 7, 1981 to August 22, 1981, including 12 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 5,879 miles.
The 6-hourly positions, winds, pressure and wind radii are available as CSV on this page (track.csv) — they come from the NOAA National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database and are in the public domain.
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