1972 Atlantic hurricane season
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 Season summary map |
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| First storm formed: | May 23, 1972 |
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| Last storm dissipated: | November 7, 1972 |
| Strongest storm: | Betty - 976 mbar (hPa), 105 mph (165 km/h) |
| Total storms: | 7 |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+): | 0 |
| Total damage: | $3.1 billion (1972 USD) $14.14 billion (2005 USD) |
| Total fatalities: | 122 |
| Atlantic hurricane seasons 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 |
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The 1972 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1972, and lasted until November 30, 1972. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. A strong El Niño kept hurricane activity at a minimum, and in fact the season was one of the quietest since the beginning of regular hurricane reconnaissance in 1944. It was also one of only three hurricane seasons since 1944 to have no major hurricanes (the other years being the 1986 season and the 1994 season).
Although a very inactive season, 1972 brought one of the deadliest and most expensive hurricanes to strike the United States, Hurricane Agnes. Agnes was a weak but large storm that made landfall at the Florida panhandle and then followed the east coast northward. It killed 122 and caused $3.1 billion (1972 dollars) in damage, mostly due to flooding in Pennsylvania and New York.
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[edit] Storms
[edit] Subtropical Storm Alpha
Subtropical Storm Alpha developed from a cold-core (extratropical) low in late May off the Florida coast. As the low moved northeastward, it warmed a little, and became Subtropical Depression One. It turned sharply southward on May 26 due to a building ridge of high pressure. The same day it became Subtropical Storm Alpha, and it moved toward the Georgia coast. After reaching its peak of 70 mph, Alpha weakened, but managed to hit near Brunswick, Georgia as a 45 mph subtropical storm. Alpha dissipated over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico on May 29.
Alpha was the first named subtropical storm.
[edit] Hurricane Agnes
- Main article: Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes was a large June Gulf of Mexico hurricane that formed over the Yucatán Peninsula on June 14. It moved northward, reaching and maintaining hurricane intensity prior to landfall on the Florida Panhandle. Agnes reintensified over North Carolina, and in combination with an extratropical low to its west, brought very heavy rains to the Mid-Atlantic. Agnes dissipated on June 23 after causing over $3 billion in damage (1970 US dollars). It held the record for most expensive hurricane in American history until Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
[edit] Hurricane Betty
The precursor of Hurricane Betty was a subtropical depression that developed from a decaying cold front on August 22, located 200 miles north-northeast of Bermuda. Initially a small cyclone, only 30-40 miles in diameter, the depression grew as it strengthened and moved eastward, becoming Subtropical Storm Bravo on August 24. On August 25, the broad wind field became more compact, and it was named Tropical Storm Betty. On August 27 it became a hurricane, and on August 28 Betty reached her peak of 100 mph (Category 2 intensity), the highest winds of the 1972 season. Building high pressure to its east forced Betty to the southwest, and over the next 3 days it executed a loop, but cooler waters and upper level shear turned the system extratropical on September 1.
[edit] Tropical Storm Carrie
- Main article: Tropical Storm Carrie (1972)
A complex system combining a tropical wave and an upper level low led to the formation of a tropical depression east of Florida on August 29. It managed to become a tropical storm on August 31 and reached its initial peak later that day, but upper level winds ripped the system apart, leaving behind a weak tropical storm with 40 mph winds. Carrie found its second wind as a trough in the westerlies brought it northward. Due to baroclinic processes, Carrie reached its peak of 70 mph just prior to becoming extratropical on September 3. As Carrie passed Cape Cod, it caused $1.15 million in damage throughout Massachusetts and New England.
[edit] Hurricane Dawn
A tropical wave, combined with an upper trophospheric trough, caused an area of convection to become a tropical depression on September 5, near the southeast coast of Florida. Though conditions were unfavorable, the depression managed to become Tropical Storm Dawn on September 6 and a hurricane on September 7. The development of a cold-core low near Cape Hatteras forced Dawn westward, then southeastward, where Dawn became a 50 mph tropical storm. It continued to weaken as it approached the Georgia and South Carolina coasts, and it finally dissipated on September 14, causing little damage over land.
[edit] Subtropical Storm Charlie
Subtropical Storm Charlie formed on September 19 over the North Atlantic. It moved quickly northeastward, reaching 65 mph winds before becoming extratropical on September 21. As an extratropical system, it became incredibly powerful, reaching 944 millibars in pressure, a reading typical of a strong Category 3 hurricane.
[edit] Subtropical Storm Delta
Subtropical Storm Delta developed from a cold-core low. The low moved southwestward in late October, and on November 1 it developed into a subtropical depression. On November 2, it became Subtropical Storm Delta. It moved southwestward initially, then eastward on November 4, where it met unfavorable conditions. Delta became a depression again on November 5, and ultimately dissipated on November 7.
[edit] 1972 storm names
The following names were used for named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) that formed in the North Atlantic in 1972. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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[edit] Subtropical storm names
The following names were used for subtropical storms (sometimes called neutercanes) in the Atlantic basin for this year. This year was the first year to use the Phonetic Alphabet for these storms. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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[edit] Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes
The name Agnes was later retired.
