Hurricane Gwen (1972)
Hurricane Gwen reached Category 3 in the Eastern Pacific between August 22, 1972 and August 31, 1972, with a lowest pressure of 941 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Gwen, 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
- Eastern Pacific
- Dates
- August 22, 1972 to August 31, 1972
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 110 kt (127 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 941 mb (27.79 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 369 km (229 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 16.2
- Fastest the center moved
- 15 kt (17 mph)
- Identifier
- EP071972
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, 00:00 | 10.0N 97.8W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 22, 06:00 | 10.0N 98.9W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Aug 22, 12:00 | 10.2N 100.1W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 22, 18:00 | 10.4N 101.4W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 23, 00:00 | 10.9N 102.6W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 23, 06:00 | 11.4N 103.3W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 23, 12:00 | 12.1N 103.9W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 23, 18:00 | 12.8N 104.8W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 24, 00:00 | 13.6N 105.7W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 24, 06:00 | 14.4N 106.2W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 24, 12:00 | 15.1N 106.6W | 55 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 24, 18:00 | 15.8N 106.9W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 25, 00:00 | 16.4N 107.2W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 25, 06:00 | 16.6N 107.5W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 25, 12:00 | 16.7N 107.8W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 25, 18:00 | 17.0N 108.2W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 26, 00:00 | 17.3N 108.6W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 26, 06:00 | 17.7N 109.0W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 26, 12:00 | 18.0N 109.5W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 26, 18:00 | 18.2N 110.0W | 85 kt | 941 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 27, 00:00 | 18.3N 110.6W | 95 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 27, 06:00 | 18.5N 111.2W | 95 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 27, 12:00 | 18.8N 111.9W | 110 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 27, 18:00 | 19.1N 112.7W | 110 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 28, 00:00 | 19.6N 113.3W | 100 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 28, 06:00 | 20.6N 114.1W | 100 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 28, 12:00 | 21.8N 115.0W | 100 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 28, 18:00 | 22.5N 115.6W | 65 kt | 962 mb | Hurricane |
| Aug 29, 00:00 | 23.3N 116.2W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Aug 29, 06:00 | 24.3N 117.0W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 29, 12:00 | 25.4N 117.8W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 29, 18:00 | 26.5N 118.6W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 30, 00:00 | 27.6N 119.4W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 30, 06:00 | 28.3N 119.8W | 50 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Aug 30, 12:00 | 28.9N 120.2W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 30, 18:00 | 29.2N 120.5W | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Aug 31, 00:00 | 29.4N 120.7W | 30 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
Other Eastern Pacific storms of 1972
- Hurricane AnnetteEastern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm BonnyEastern Pacific · 1972
- Hurricane CelesteEastern Pacific · 1972
- Hurricane DianaEastern Pacific · 1972
- Hurricane EstelleEastern Pacific · 1972
- Hurricane FernandaEastern Pacific · 1972
- Hurricane HyacinthEastern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm IvaEastern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm JuneEastern Pacific · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionEastern Pacific · 1972
- Hurricane JoanneEastern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm KathleenEastern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Depression OlgaEastern Pacific · 1972
- Hurricane RubyEastern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm LizaEastern Pacific · 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.