Hurricane History Map

1972 North Atlantic season

21 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 1972, from 23 May 1972 to 7 November 1972.

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Years1972
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

The 1972 season in numbers

The record holds 21 storms for the 1972 North Atlantic season, of which 7 had names.12 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 2 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 0 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 21storms
  • 12tropical storm strength or more
  • 2hurricane strength or more
  • 0major (category 3 to 5)
  • 40accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 1972

  • Betty (1972)22 August 1972 to 1 September 1972, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 976 hPa
  • Agnes (1972)14 June 1972 to 23 June 1972, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 977 hPa
  • Alpha (1972)23 May 1972 to 29 May 1972, peak Tropical storm (60 kt), 988 hPa
  • Carrie (1972)29 August 1972 to 5 September 1972, peak Tropical storm (55 kt), 992 hPa
  • Dawn (1972)5 September 1972 to 14 September 1972, peak Tropical storm (55 kt), 996 hPa

All 21 storms of 1972

StormPeak
Alpha Tropical storm
Agnes Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Betty Category 1
Carrie Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Dawn Tropical storm
Charlie Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Delta Tropical storm

← 1971 · 1973 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1972

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