Hurricane Betty (1972)
Hurricane Betty reached Category 2 in the North Atlantic between August 22, 1972 and September 1, 1972, with a lowest pressure of 976 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Betty, 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
- August 22, 1972 to September 1, 1972
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 976 mb (28.82 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 750 km (466 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 10.7
- Fastest the center moved
- 22 kt (25 mph)
- Identifier
- AL101972
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.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 12:00 | 36.5N 64.0W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| Aug 22, 18:00 | 37.0N 62.5W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| Aug 23, 00:00 | 37.5N 61.0W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| Aug 23, 06:00 | 37.5N 59.5W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| Aug 23, 12:00 | 37.5N 58.0W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| Aug 23, 18:00 | 37.3N 56.8W | 30 kt | Subtropical depression | |
| Aug 24, 00:00 | 37.2N 56.2W | 35 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| Aug 24, 06:00 | 37.2N 55.5W | 35 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| Aug 24, 12:00 | 37.2N 54.8W | 35 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| Aug 24, 18:00 | 37.3N 54.3W | 35 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| Aug 25, 00:00 | 37.3N 53.8W | 35 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| Aug 25, 06:00 | 37.3N 53.5W | 40 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| Aug 25, 12:00 | 37.3N 53.3W | 45 kt | 997 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Aug 25, 18:00 | 37.2N 53.1W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Aug 26, 00:00 | 37.4N 52.9W | 55 kt | 992 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Aug 26, 06:00 | 37.7N 52.7W | 55 kt | 995 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Aug 26, 12:00 | 38.0N 52.4W | 55 kt | 998 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Aug 26, 18:00 | 38.3N 52.0W | 55 kt | 998 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Aug 27, 00:00 | 38.5N 51.0W | 60 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| Aug 27, 06:00 | 38.5N 49.0W | 60 kt | Subtropical storm | |
| Aug 27, 12:00 | 38.8N 46.6W | 80 kt | 987 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 27, 18:00 | 40.0N 44.6W | 85 kt | 982 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 28, 00:00 | 40.5N 42.6W | 90 kt | 976 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 28, 06:00 | 40.9N 40.7W | 85 kt | 977 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 28, 12:00 | 41.1N 39.9W | 85 kt | 977 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 28, 18:00 | 41.2N 37.0W | 85 kt | 978 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 29, 00:00 | 41.0N 35.7W | 85 kt | 981 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 29, 06:00 | 41.2N 34.6W | 85 kt | 982 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 29, 12:00 | 41.6N 33.4W | 85 kt | 986 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 29, 18:00 | 41.7N 32.5W | 80 kt | 989 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 30, 00:00 | 41.6N 32.2W | 75 kt | 989 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 30, 06:00 | 41.5N 32.1W | 75 kt | 989 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 30, 12:00 | 41.2N 32.2W | 70 kt | 996 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 30, 18:00 | 40.9N 32.6W | 65 kt | 999 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 31, 00:00 | 40.6N 34.0W | 55 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 31, 06:00 | 40.7N 35.4W | 45 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 31, 12:00 | 41.1N 36.8W | 40 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 31, 18:00 | 41.9N 37.8W | 40 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 1, 00:00 | 42.9N 38.0W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 1, 06:00 | 44.0N 38.1W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 1, 12:00 | 45.1N 37.9W | 45 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 1, 18:00 | 46.2N 37.9W | 50 kt | Tropical storm |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1972
- Tropical Storm AlphaNorth Atlantic · 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
- 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.