hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

1972 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 19 storms · 23 May 1972–7 Nov 1972

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY35.6
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1972 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 19 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESCANADAMEXICOCUBABRAZILAFRICAEUROPECHINAJAPANINDIAGulf of MexicoAtlantic OceanPacific OceanArabian SeaBay of BengalAlpha: 23 May–29 May, no US-agency windAgnes: 14 Jun–23 Jun, peak 75 kt, Category 1Unnamed: 19 Jun–20 Jun, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 10 Jul–12 Jul, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 16 Jul–20 Jul, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 31 Jul–3 Aug, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 5 Aug–7 Aug, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 12 Aug–15 Aug, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 16 Aug–18 Aug, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionBetty: 27 Aug–1 Sep, peak 90 kt, Category 2Carrie: 29 Aug–3 Sep, peak 60 kt, Tropical stormUnnamed: 3 Sep–5 Sep, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionDawn: 5 Sep–14 Sep, peak 70 kt, Category 1Charlie: 19 Sep–22 Sep, no US-agency windUnnamed: 20 Sep–24 Sep, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 1 Oct–3 Oct, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 5 Oct–15 Oct, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionUnnamed: 16 Oct–20 Oct, peak 25 kt, Tropical depressionDelta: 1 Nov–7 Nov, no US-agency wind

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Alpha–—Unclassified—1,150
Agnes–75Cat 19771,830
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—310
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—480
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—710
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—770
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—1,170
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—220
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—620
Betty–90Cat 29762,170
Carrie–60Tropical storm9931,530
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—480
Dawn–70Cat 19972,170
Charlie–—Unclassified—1,590
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—860
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—640
Unnamed–30Tropical depression—3,020
Unnamed–25Tropical depression—700
Delta–—Unclassified—900

19 storms with an IBTrACS 1972 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 23 May 1972, last 7 Nov 1972.

Tropical storms7

Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 34 kt or more

Hurricanes3

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)0

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 50

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormBetty

90 kt · 104 mph / 167 km/h

Lowest pressure976 hPa

Betty, 28 Aug 1972

Longest track record10.3 days

Betty, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind3

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 1972 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 3 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 7 tropical storms, with 0 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season?

Betty, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 90 kt (Category 2) on 28 Aug 1972, 00:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 976 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 1972?

None. No storm in the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.

When did the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 23 May 1972 and the last on 7 Nov 1972, from 19 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season?

Agnes, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 18 Jun 1972, 12:00 UTC.

METHODOLOGY

Data sources and limitations

The map and totals are generated from NOAA’s IBTrACS v04r01 archive. A storm belongs to this page when the archive lists it in the North Atlantic basin for the 1972 season, so a December storm whose track ends in January stays with its season. Storms that cross between basins appear on the page of their archive basin only.

Counts use US-agency one-minute winds during the tropical stage: 34 kt for a tropical storm, 64 kt for hurricane strength and 96 kt for major intensity, on the Saffir–Simpson scale in every basin. Local agencies classify storms differently, and official season summaries can differ from the archive. Accumulated cyclone energy sums squared winds at six-hourly synoptic times, counting observations in the calendar year. Storms with no US-agency wind are mapped but cannot enter the counts.

The map frame is the same for every North Atlantic season, so a track that leaves it is cut at the edge. Lines show each storm’s center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Coastlines use Natural Earth’s 1:10m land data.

Archive retrieved

NOAA IBTrACS archive · Field documentation

Sources & methodology