The 1972 season

Typhoon Nancy (1972)

Typhoon Nancy reached Category 3 in the Western Pacific between October 15, 1972 and October 29, 1972, with a lowest pressure of 945 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Nancy, 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
October 15, 1972 to October 29, 1972
Peak strength
Category 3, 105 kt (121 mph)
Lowest pressure
945 mb (27.91 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 363 km (226 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
14.5
Identifier
WP261972

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
Oct 15, 00:0014.1N 172.5ETropical storm
Oct 15, 06:0014.5N 172.1ETropical storm
Oct 15, 12:0015.0N 171.5ETropical storm
Oct 15, 18:0015.3N 170.8ETropical storm
Oct 16, 00:0015.6N 170.1E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 16, 06:0015.7N 169.6E35 kt998 mbTropical storm
Oct 16, 12:0015.8N 169.0E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Oct 16, 18:0015.8N 167.8E50 kt994 mbTropical storm
Oct 17, 00:0015.8N 166.5E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 17, 06:0015.9N 165.5E70 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 17, 12:0016.1N 164.5E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 17, 18:0016.4N 162.9E85 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 18, 00:0016.8N 161.7E90 kt960 mbTropical storm
Oct 18, 06:0017.4N 160.8E95 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 18, 12:0018.1N 159.9E100 kt945 mbTropical storm
Oct 18, 18:0018.9N 158.8E100 kt950 mbTropical storm
Oct 19, 00:0019.7N 158.3E105 kt950 mbTropical storm
Oct 19, 06:0020.9N 158.0E100 kt950 mbTropical storm
Oct 19, 12:0021.6N 158.0E95 kt960 mbTropical storm
Oct 19, 18:0022.3N 158.2E90 kt965 mbTropical storm
Oct 20, 00:0023.1N 158.5E85 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 20, 06:0023.7N 159.0E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 20, 12:0024.2N 159.4E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 20, 18:0024.5N 159.8E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 00:0024.8N 160.6E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 06:0025.1N 161.5E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 12:0025.5N 162.6E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 18:0025.7N 163.2E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 00:0025.8N 163.8E45 kt995 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 06:0025.6N 163.7E40 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 12:0025.5N 163.5E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 18:0025.4N 163.3E35 kt1006 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 00:0025.3N 163.0E30 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 06:0025.1N 162.0E30 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 12:0024.9N 160.8E30 kt1008 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 18:0024.7N 159.7E30 kt1010 mbMixed
Oct 24, 00:0024.4N 158.2E30 kt1010 mbMixed
Oct 24, 06:0023.8N 156.8E35 kt1010 mbMixed
Oct 24, 12:0023.0N 153.8E35 kt1010 mbMixed
Oct 24, 18:0022.8N 151.2E35 kt1010 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 00:0022.0N 148.9E30 kt1010 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 06:0021.0N 146.5E30 kt1010 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 12:0020.2N 144.2E25 kt1010 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 18:0019.2N 141.8E25 kt1010 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 00:0018.3N 139.6E30 kt1010 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 06:0017.3N 137.3E30 ktTropical storm
Oct 26, 12:0016.4N 135.1E25 ktTropical storm
Oct 26, 18:0015.4N 133.0E25 ktTropical storm
Oct 27, 00:0014.8N 131.9E25 ktTropical storm
Oct 27, 06:0014.5N 131.7E25 ktTropical storm
Oct 27, 12:0014.2N 131.3E20 ktTropical storm
Oct 27, 18:0013.8N 130.8E20 ktTropical storm
Oct 28, 00:0013.6N 130.6E20 ktTropical storm
Oct 28, 06:0013.3N 130.3E20 ktTropical storm
Oct 28, 12:0013.0N 130.0E20 ktTropical storm
Oct 28, 18:0012.7N 129.4E20 ktTropical storm
Oct 29, 00:0012.2N 128.9E20 ktTropical storm

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.