Typhoon Helen (1972)
Typhoon Helen reached Category 3 in the Western Pacific between September 10, 1972 and September 21, 1972, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb, and made landfall. It killed 87 people, as Wikidata records it.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Typhoon Helen, 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
- Western Pacific
- Dates
- September 10, 1972 to September 21, 1972
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 955 mb (28.20 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 9.4
- Fastest the center moved
- 30 kt (35 mph)
- Identifier
- WP201972
Deaths and damage
The sources count different things and are not added together.
Wikidata
87 deathsno damage figure
A community-maintained total, usually direct and indirect deaths together and damage worldwide. Joined to this storm by its IBTrACS serial, not by name.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 06:00 | 14.2N 144.8E | 1006 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 10, 12:00 | 14.0N 144.0E | 1006 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 10, 18:00 | 13.6N 143.0E | 1006 mb | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 11, 00:00 | 13.0N 142.6E | 1006 mb | Mixed | |
| Sep 11, 06:00 | 12.8N 142.5E | 1006 mb | Mixed | |
| Sep 11, 12:00 | 12.6N 141.5E | 1004 mb | Mixed | |
| Sep 11, 18:00 | 12.8N 140.0E | 1004 mb | Mixed | |
| Sep 12, 00:00 | 13.0N 138.5E | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 12, 06:00 | 13.5N 138.2E | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 12, 12:00 | 14.0N 137.8E | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 12, 18:00 | 14.5N 137.3E | 30 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 00:00 | 15.0N 136.9E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 06:00 | 15.4N 136.6E | 40 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 12:00 | 16.7N 135.5E | 50 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 18:00 | 17.6N 134.7E | 50 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 00:00 | 18.5N 133.9E | 55 kt | 975 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 06:00 | 19.4N 133.1E | 70 kt | 970 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 12:00 | 20.1N 132.4E | 70 kt | 965 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 18:00 | 21.1N 132.0E | 70 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 15, 00:00 | 22.1N 131.8E | 75 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 15, 06:00 | 23.6N 131.8E | 80 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 15, 12:00 | 25.1N 132.0E | 80 kt | 955 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 15, 18:00 | 27.0N 132.5E | 85 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 16, 00:00 | 29.3N 133.5E | 90 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 16, 06:00 | 31.9N 134.8E | 100 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 16, 12:00 | 34.4N 136.0E | 65 kt | 960 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 16, 18:00 | 37.3N 137.3E | 60 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 17, 00:00 | 39.5N 139.0E | 55 kt | 982 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 17, 06:00 | 41.6N 139.9E | 50 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 17, 12:00 | 42.9N 139.8E | 50 kt | 978 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 17, 18:00 | 43.2N 139.0E | 50 kt | 978 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 18, 00:00 | 43.2N 138.2E | 55 kt | 980 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 18, 06:00 | 43.1N 137.8E | 45 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 18, 12:00 | 42.9N 137.6E | 35 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 18, 18:00 | 42.3N 137.8E | 35 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 19, 00:00 | 42.1N 138.2E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 19, 06:00 | 42.0N 138.9E | 30 kt | 990 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 19, 12:00 | 42.0N 139.7E | 30 kt | 998 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 19, 18:00 | 42.1N 140.2E | 30 kt | 998 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 20, 00:00 | 42.3N 140.8E | 20 kt | 1000 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 20, 06:00 | 42.6N 141.9E | 15 kt | 1002 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 20, 12:00 | 42.8N 143.3E | 15 kt | 1006 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 20, 18:00 | 43.2N 145.8E | 15 kt | 1008 mb | Mixed |
| Sep 21, 00:00 | 44.0N 147.7E | 20 kt | 1012 mb | Mixed |
Other Western Pacific storms of 1972
- Typhoon KitWestern Pacific · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon LolaWestern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm NinaWestern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm MamieWestern Pacific · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon OraWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon PhyllisWestern Pacific · 1972
- Super Typhoon RitaWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon SusanWestern Pacific · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon TessWestern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm ViolaWestern Pacific · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm WinnieWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon AliceWestern Pacific · 1972
- Super Typhoon BettyWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon CoraWestern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm DorisWestern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Depression DorisWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon ElsieWestern Pacific · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon FlossieWestern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm GraceWestern Pacific · 1972
- Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon IdaWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon LornaWestern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm KathyWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon MarieWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon NancyWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon OlgaWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon PamelaWestern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Depression PamelaWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon ThereseWestern Pacific · 1972
- Typhoon SallyWestern Pacific · 1972
- Tropical Storm VioletWestern 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.