The 1972 season

Typhoon Olga (1972)

Typhoon Olga reached Category 3 in the Western Pacific between October 20, 1972 and October 31, 1972, with a lowest pressure of 940 mb.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Olga, 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 20, 1972 to October 31, 1972
Peak strength
Category 3, 105 kt (121 mph)
Lowest pressure
940 mb (27.76 inHg)
Landfall
No; closest approach 667 km (414 mi)
Accumulated cyclone energy
21.5
Identifier
WP271972

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 20, 12:007.0N 178.0E35 ktTropical storm
Oct 20, 18:007.4N 177.7E35 ktTropical storm
Oct 21, 00:007.8N 177.0E40 ktTropical storm
Oct 21, 06:007.9N 176.4E45 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 12:007.9N 175.5E50 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Oct 21, 18:007.9N 174.8E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 00:008.1N 174.1E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 06:008.2N 174.0E60 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 12:008.6N 173.8E65 kt990 mbTropical storm
Oct 22, 18:009.1N 173.1E65 kt996 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 00:009.3N 172.2E60 kt996 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 06:009.6N 171.4E55 kt996 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 12:009.9N 170.4E55 kt996 mbTropical storm
Oct 23, 18:0010.4N 169.4E60 kt996 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 00:0011.2N 168.3E60 kt996 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 06:0011.8N 167.1E55 kt994 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 12:0012.2N 165.6E50 kt994 mbTropical storm
Oct 24, 18:0012.2N 164.0E55 kt994 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 00:0012.6N 162.6E55 kt992 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 06:0013.5N 161.2E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 12:0013.8N 159.3E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Oct 25, 18:0013.8N 157.9E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 00:0014.0N 156.9E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 06:0014.5N 155.5E85 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 12:0015.1N 153.6E75 kt970 mbTropical storm
Oct 26, 18:0015.9N 151.5E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 00:0016.7N 149.5E90 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 06:0017.5N 147.8E105 kt945 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 12:0018.3N 146.4E105 kt940 mbTropical storm
Oct 27, 18:0019.4N 145.2E105 kt940 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 00:0020.5N 144.2E100 kt940 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 06:0021.8N 143.6E100 kt945 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 12:0023.0N 143.3E100 kt950 mbTropical storm
Oct 28, 18:0024.7N 143.3E90 kt950 mbTropical storm
Oct 29, 00:0027.3N 144.2E85 kt955 mbTropical storm
Oct 29, 06:0030.0N 145.6E80 kt965 mbTropical storm
Oct 29, 12:0033.0N 148.0E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Oct 29, 18:0036.8N 151.0E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Oct 30, 00:0039.7N 154.5E60 kt980 mbMixed
Oct 30, 06:0044.5N 159.5E55 kt972 mbMixed
Oct 30, 12:0046.5N 163.5E55 kt968 mbMixed
Oct 30, 18:0047.2N 167.2E60 kt964 mbMixed
Oct 31, 00:0047.8N 170.8E65 kt960 mbMixed
Oct 31, 06:0048.2N 175.5E60 kt964 mbMixed

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.