Hurricane History Map

1972 South Pacific and Australian region season

17 storms formed in the South Pacific and Australian region basin in 1972, from 5 November 1971 to 5 June 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 17 storms for the 1972 South Pacific and Australian region season, of which 15 had names.16 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 9 reached cyclone strength (category 1 or more) and 1 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 17storms
  • 16tropical storm strength or more
  • 9cyclone strength or more
  • 1major (category 3 to 5)
  • 52accumulated 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

  • Wendy (1972)29 January 1972 to 9 February 1972, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 945 hPa
  • Daisy (1972)5 February 1972 to 16 February 1972, peak Category 1 (80 kt)
  • Ursula (1972)2 December 1971 to 16 December 1971, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 965 hPa
  • Yolande (1972)17 March 1972 to 24 March 1972, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 965 hPa
  • Agatha (1972)22 March 1972 to 28 March 1972, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 965 hPa

All 17 storms of 1972

StormPeak
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Ursula Category 1
Kitty Tropical storm
Vivienne Tropical storm
Althea Category 1
Bronwyn Tropical storm
Carlotta Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical storm
Wendy Category 4
Daisy Category 1
Yolande Category 1
Agatha Category 1
Emily Category 1
Faith Tropical storm
Gail Category 1
Hannah Tropical depression
Ida Tropical storm

← 1971 · 1973 → · All seasons

Other basins in 1972

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