The 1972 season

Hurricane Agnes (1972)

Hurricane Agnes reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between June 14, 1972 and June 23, 1972, with a lowest pressure of 977 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Hurricane Agnes, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1972 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.

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The storm

Basin
North Atlantic
Dates
June 14, 1972 to June 23, 1972
Peak strength
Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)
Lowest pressure
977 mb (28.85 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
6.8
Fastest the center moved
20 kt (23 mph)
Identifier
AL021972

Deaths and damage

No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.

Rainfall

The Weather Prediction Center attributes 1,693 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 19.00 inches (483 mm).

StationTotalPosition
WESTERN SCHUYLKILL CO.19.00 in (483 mm)0.00N 0.00E
HARRISBURG CAPITAL CITY ARPT15.25 in (387 mm)40.22N 76.85W
BEAR GAP14.69 in (373 mm)40.82N 76.50W
ZERBEY AIRPORT13.92 in (354 mm)40.70N 76.38W
WELLSVILLE13.90 in (353 mm)42.12N 77.95W
WASHINGTON DC DULLES INTL AP13.65 in (347 mm)38.93N 77.48W
BIG MEADOWS13.60 in (345 mm)38.53N 78.43W
LEBANON 2 W13.57 in (345 mm)40.33N 76.47W
SHAMOKIN13.56 in (344 mm)40.80N 76.55W
WESTMINSTER 2 SSE13.56 in (344 mm)39.55N 76.98W
WILLIAMSPORT LYCOMING COUNTY13.47 in (342 mm)41.25N 76.92W
ALFRED13.24 in (336 mm)42.27N 77.78W

WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.

Track

Time (UTC)PositionWindPressureStatus
Jun 14, 12:0020.0N 89.0W25 ktTropical depression
Jun 14, 18:0020.0N 88.7W25 ktTropical depression
Jun 15, 00:0020.0N 88.4W25 ktTropical depression
Jun 15, 06:0020.0N 88.1W25 ktTropical depression
Jun 15, 12:0020.0N 87.8W25 ktTropical depression
Jun 15, 18:0020.0N 87.4W30 ktTropical depression
Jun 16, 00:0020.0N 87.0W30 kt1001 mbTropical depression
Jun 16, 06:0020.0N 86.6W30 kt1000 mbTropical depression
Jun 16, 12:0020.0N 86.2W40 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jun 16, 18:0020.2N 85.8W45 ktTropical storm
Jun 17, 00:0020.5N 85.5W50 ktTropical storm
Jun 17, 06:0020.9N 85.3W50 ktTropical storm
Jun 17, 12:0021.4N 85.2W50 ktTropical storm
Jun 17, 18:0021.9N 85.3W55 ktTropical storm
Jun 18, 00:0022.4N 85.4W60 ktTropical storm
Jun 18, 06:0023.0N 85.5W60 ktTropical storm
Jun 18, 12:0023.8N 85.6W65 kt986 mbHurricane
Jun 18, 18:0024.8N 85.7W65 kt983 mbHurricane
Jun 19, 00:0026.0N 85.7W75 kt982 mbHurricane
Jun 19, 06:0027.2N 85.7W75 kt978 mbHurricane
Jun 19, 12:0028.5N 85.7W75 kt978 mbHurricane
Jun 19, 18:0029.6N 85.6W65 kt983 mbHurricane
Jun 20, 00:0030.5N 85.2W45 kt987 mbTropical storm
Jun 20, 06:0031.4N 84.7W30 kt990 mbTropical depression
Jun 20, 12:0032.2N 83.8W30 kt991 mbTropical depression
Jun 20, 18:0032.9N 82.8W30 kt992 mbTropical depression
Jun 21, 00:0033.5N 81.7W30 kt992 mbTropical depression
Jun 21, 06:0033.8N 80.2W30 kt991 mbTropical depression
Jun 21, 12:0034.4N 79.0W30 kt990 mbTropical depression
Jun 21, 18:0035.2N 77.6W40 kt988 mbTropical storm
Jun 22, 00:0035.8N 75.7W45 ktTropical storm
Jun 22, 06:0036.9N 74.3W50 ktTropical storm
Jun 22, 12:0038.2N 73.1W60 kt977 mbTropical storm
Jun 22, 18:0040.2N 73.4W55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jun 23, 00:0041.7N 74.5W45 ktTropical storm

Other North Atlantic storms of 1972

What this means

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Sources

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.

The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.