Tropical Storm Alpha (1972)
Tropical Storm Alpha peaked at 60 kt in the North Atlantic between May 23, 1972 and May 29, 1972, with a lowest pressure of 991 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Alpha, 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.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- May 23, 1972 to May 29, 1972
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 60 kt (69 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 991 mb (29.26 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 0.0
- Fastest the center moved
- 18 kt (21 mph)
- Identifier
- AL011972
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 646 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 6.97 inches (177 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| OCRACOKE | 6.97 in (177 mm) | 35.10N 75.98W |
| KENDALL 2 E | 3.70 in (94 mm) | 25.68N 80.28W |
| JACKSONVILLE INTL AP | 3.60 in (91 mm) | 30.50N 81.70W |
| STARKE | 3.55 in (90 mm) | 29.93N 82.10W |
| EDISTO ISLAND | 3.54 in (90 mm) | 32.47N 80.33W |
| BRUNSWICK MALCOLM MCKINNON AP | 3.42 in (87 mm) | 31.15N 81.38W |
| GAINESVILLE 3 WSW | 3.33 in (85 mm) | 29.63N 82.37W |
| WEST PALM BEACH INTL AP | 3.24 in (82 mm) | 26.68N 80.10W |
| CHARLESTON CITY | 3.12 in (79 mm) | 32.78N 79.93W |
| FOLKSTON 9 SW | 2.96 in (75 mm) | 30.73N 82.13W |
| JACKSONVILLE BEACH | 2.96 in (75 mm) | 30.28N 81.40W |
| PALATKA | 2.95 in (75 mm) | 29.65N 81.67W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 18:00 | 31.2N 78.2W | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Subtropical depression |
| May 24, 00:00 | 31.7N 77.0W | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Subtropical depression |
| May 24, 06:00 | 32.2N 76.6W | 30 kt | 1003 mb | Subtropical depression |
| May 24, 12:00 | 32.9N 76.2W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| May 24, 18:00 | 33.5N 75.7W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| May 25, 00:00 | 34.0N 75.4W | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Subtropical depression |
| May 25, 06:00 | 34.3N 75.1W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| May 25, 12:00 | 34.4N 74.6W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| May 25, 18:00 | 34.2N 74.1W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| May 26, 00:00 | 34.0N 73.5W | 45 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| May 26, 06:00 | 32.5N 74.6W | 50 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| May 26, 12:00 | 31.6N 75.7W | 60 kt | 1001 mb | Subtropical storm |
| May 26, 18:00 | 31.4N 75.9W | 55 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| May 27, 00:00 | 31.2N 76.2W | 50 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| May 27, 06:00 | 30.8N 77.1W | 45 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| May 27, 12:00 | 30.6N 78.4W | 55 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| May 27, 18:00 | 30.8N 80.1W | 50 kt | 991 mb | Subtropical storm |
| May 28, 00:00 | 31.0N 81.7W | 30 kt | 1001 mb | Subtropical depression |
| May 28, 06:00 | 30.5N 83.0W | 30 kt | 1011 mb | Subtropical depression |
| May 28, 12:00 | 29.8N 84.0W | 30 kt | 1012 mb | Subtropical depression |
| May 28, 18:00 | 29.2N 84.7W | 30 kt | 1013 mb | Subtropical depression |
| May 29, 00:00 | 28.8N 85.0W | 25 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| May 29, 06:00 | 28.4N 85.2W | 25 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| May 29, 12:00 | 27.8N 85.5W | 25 kt | 1013 mb | Subtropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1972
- Hurricane AgnesNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Hurricane BettyNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Tropical Storm CarrieNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Hurricane DawnNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Tropical Storm CharlieNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1972
- Tropical Storm DeltaNorth Atlantic · 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.