EASTERN PACIFIC · SEASON MAP
1972 Pacific hurricane season
Every recorded track, mapped · 15 storms · 1 Jun 1972–15 Nov 1972
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| Annette | – | 75 | Cat 1 | 993 | 680 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonny | – | 45 | Tropical storm | 996 | 660 |
| Celeste | – | 115 | Cat 4 | 940 | 3,510 |
| Diana | – | 95 | Cat 2 | 1005 | 2,530 |
| Estelle | – | 70 | Cat 1 | — | 1,710 |
| Fernanda | – | 100 | Cat 3 | 948 | 3,210 |
| Gwen | – | 110 | Cat 3 | 941 | 1,850 |
| Hyacinth | – | 110 | Cat 3 | 962 | 2,880 |
| Iva | – | 45 | Tropical storm | 999 | 1,620 |
| June | – | 50 | Tropical storm | — | 920 |
| Unnamed | – | 25 | Tropical depression | — | 880 |
| Joanne | – | 85 | Cat 2 | 971 | 1,610 |
| Kathleen | – | 40 | Tropical storm | — | 350 |
| Olga | – | 30 | Tropical depression | — | 0 |
| Liza | – | 45 | Tropical storm | — | 330 |
15 storms with an IBTrACS 1972 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 1 Jun 1972, last 15 Nov 1972.
Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 34 kt or more
64 kt or more, one-minute sustained
96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale
137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation
115 kt · 132 mph / 213 km/h
Celeste, 14 Aug 1972
Celeste, full archive record
Mapped, but outside the counts above
QUICK ANSWERS
The 1972 season in brief
How many hurricanes were there in the 1972 Pacific hurricane season?
The archive records 8 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 13 tropical storms, with 4 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.
What was the strongest storm of the 1972 Pacific hurricane season?
Celeste, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 115 kt (Category 4) on 14 Aug 1972, 06:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 940 hPa.
How many Category 5 storms were there in 1972?
None. No storm in the 1972 Pacific hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale in the archive.
When did the 1972 Pacific hurricane season start and end?
The first tropical-stage observation is on 1 Jun 1972 and the last on 15 Nov 1972, from 15 tracked storms in the archive.
What was the first hurricane of the 1972 Pacific hurricane season?
Annette, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 4 Jun 1972, 15:00 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 Eastern Pacific 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 Eastern Pacific 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