The 1972 season

Typhoon Lola (1972)

Typhoon Lola reached Category 3 in the Western Pacific between May 27, 1972 and June 8, 1972, with a lowest pressure of 955 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Lola, 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
Western Pacific
Dates
May 27, 1972 to June 8, 1972
Peak strength
Category 3, 105 kt (121 mph)
Lowest pressure
955 mb (28.20 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 1005 km (624 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
16.6
Identifier
WP031972

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)PositionWindPressureStatus
May 27, 06:006.5N 168.0E1006 mbTropical storm
May 27, 12:006.5N 167.0E1006 mbTropical storm
May 27, 18:006.6N 166.0E1004 mbTropical storm
May 28, 00:006.6N 165.0E1004 mbTropical storm
May 28, 06:006.6N 164.0E1002 mbTropical storm
May 28, 12:006.6N 163.0E1002 mbTropical storm
May 28, 18:006.7N 162.0E1002 mbTropical storm
May 29, 00:008.0N 160.5E30 kt1002 mbTropical storm
May 29, 06:008.0N 160.4E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
May 29, 12:008.1N 160.2E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
May 29, 18:008.2N 160.0E40 kt996 mbTropical storm
May 30, 00:008.3N 159.7E45 kt996 mbTropical storm
May 30, 06:008.3N 159.5E45 kt996 mbTropical storm
May 30, 12:008.5N 159.4E55 kt996 mbTropical storm
May 30, 18:009.0N 159.4E60 kt992 mbTropical storm
May 31, 00:009.6N 159.0E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
May 31, 06:009.8N 158.7E65 kt985 mbTropical storm
May 31, 12:009.9N 158.4E75 kt985 mbTropical storm
May 31, 18:0010.4N 158.1E80 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jun 1, 00:0011.2N 157.5E85 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jun 1, 06:0012.0N 157.0E85 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jun 1, 12:0012.6N 156.6E95 kt965 mbTropical storm
Jun 1, 18:0013.3N 156.7E95 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jun 2, 00:0014.0N 157.1E105 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jun 2, 06:0014.9N 157.7E105 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jun 2, 12:0015.7N 158.1E105 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jun 2, 18:0016.7N 158.3E90 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jun 3, 00:0017.7N 158.5E90 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jun 3, 06:0019.1N 159.2E85 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jun 3, 12:0020.3N 160.1E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Jun 3, 18:0021.6N 160.7E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Jun 4, 00:0022.5N 161.2E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jun 4, 06:0023.7N 161.7E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jun 4, 12:0024.5N 162.1E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jun 4, 18:0025.6N 162.4E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 5, 00:0025.7N 162.7E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 5, 06:0027.9N 163.7E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jun 5, 12:0028.7N 165.6E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jun 5, 18:0029.7N 167.1E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jun 6, 00:0031.0N 168.0E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jun 6, 06:0032.2N 169.1E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jun 6, 12:0033.3N 170.2E40 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jun 6, 18:0034.7N 171.2E40 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jun 7, 00:0035.8N 171.9E40 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jun 7, 06:0037.6N 173.5E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jun 7, 12:0040.0N 175.7E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jun 7, 18:0042.8N 178.5E35 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jun 8, 00:0046.0N 182.0EExtratropical

Other Western Pacific 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.