2012 North Atlantic season

19 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 2012, from 19 May 2012 to 31 October 2012.

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Years2012
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 2012 season in numbers

The record holds 19 storms for the 2012 North Atlantic season, of which 19 had names.19 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 10 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 2 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 19storms
  • 19tropical storm strength or more
  • 10hurricane strength or more
  • 2major (category 3 to 5)
  • 133accumulated 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 2012

  • Michael (2012)2 September 2012 to 12 September 2012, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 964 hPa
  • Sandy (2012)21 October 2012 to 31 October 2012, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 940 hPa
  • Gordon (2012)15 August 2012 to 21 August 2012, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 965 hPa
  • Kirk (2012)28 August 2012 to 3 September 2012, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 970 hPa
  • Ernesto (2012)1 August 2012 to 10 August 2012, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 973 hPa

All 19 storms of 2012

StormPeak
Alberto Tropical storm
Beryl Tropical storm
Chris Category 1
Debby Tropical storm
Ernesto Category 1
Florence Tropical storm
Helene Tropical storm
Gordon Category 2
Isaac Category 1
Joyce Tropical storm
Leslie Category 1
Kirk Category 2
Michael Category 3
Nadine Category 1
Oscar Tropical storm
Patty Tropical storm
Rafael Category 1
Sandy Category 3
Tony Tropical storm

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Other basins in 2012

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