Track map & timeline · Atlantic · November 3–7, 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 Katrina (1981) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1981 Atlantic season. It formed on November 3, 1981, 165 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands, reached its peak of 86 mph (139 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 980 mb on November 5, 1981, and never made landfall. It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 86 mph on November 5, 1981). The storm lasted 4.8 days and travelled about 1,355 miles (2,181 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Impact
| City | Distance to center | When (UTC) | Storm strength then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camagüey, Camagüey, Cuba | 27 mi | Nov 6 · 07:00 UTC | TS 62 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 3 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1005 mb | 16.9°N 81.2°W | 165 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 3 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1005 mb | 17.2°N 81.3°W | 144 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 3 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1004 mb | 17.5°N 81.4°W | 123 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 3 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1002 mb | 17.8°N 81.4°W | 103 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 4 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1001 mb | 18.1°N 81.4°W | 82 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 4 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1000 mb | 18.3°N 81.4°W | 68 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 4 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | 998 mb | 18.6°N 81.3°W | 48 mi S of George Town, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 4 18:00 | TS | 58 mph | 996 mb | 18.9°N 81.2°W | 26 mi S of Bodden Town, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 5 00:00 | TS | 69 mph | 993 mb | 19.2°N 81.1°W | near Frank Sound, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 5 06:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 988 mb | 19.6°N 80.8°W | 32 mi NE of Further Ground, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 5 12:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 980 mb | 20.0°N 80.5°W | 64 mi NE of Further Ground, Cayman Islands |
| Nov 5 18:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 988 mb | 20.4°N 80.1°W | 97 mi S of Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus Province, Cuba |
| Nov 6 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 996 mb | 20.9°N 79.5°W | 62 mi SSW of La Sierpe, Sancti Spíritus Province, Cuba |
| Nov 6 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | 999 mb | 21.6°N 78.3°W | near Florida, Camagüey, Cuba |
| Nov 6 12:00 | TS | 58 mph | 1001 mb | 22.4°N 77.0°W | 62 mi NNE of Nuevitas, Camagüey, Cuba |
| Nov 6 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1001 mb | 23.2°N 75.5°W | 150 mi NNE of Gibara, Holguín Province, Cuba |
| Nov 7 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1001 mb | 24.0°N 73.3°W | 167 mi NNW of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands |
| Nov 7 06:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1002 mb | 25.0°N 70.6°W | open ocean |
| Nov 7 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1002 mb | 25.9°N 67.5°W | open ocean |
| Nov 7 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1002 mb | 26.8°N 64.5°W | open ocean |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
No — the NOAA best-track record shows no landfall for Katrina. Its closest approach to a major city was 27 miles from Camagüey, Camagüey, Cuba.
At its peak on November 5, 1981, Katrina was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 86 mph (139 km/h) and a central pressure of 980 mb.
4.8 days, from November 3, 1981 to November 7, 1981, including 24 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 1,355 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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