Super Typhoon Rita (1972)

Basin

Western Pacific

Dates

July 5, 1972 to July 30, 1972

Peak strength

Category 5, 145 kt (167 mph)

Lowest pressure

910 mb (26.87 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

62.9

Fastest the center moved

30 kt (35 mph)

Identifier

WP081972

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.

• Typhoon KitWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 4120 kt · 940 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Depression
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Depression30 kt
• Typhoon LolaWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 3105 kt · 955 mb
• Tropical Storm NinaWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Storm45 kt · 996 mb
• Tropical Storm MamieWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Storm50 kt · 990 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Depression
• Typhoon OraWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 180 kt · 980 mb
• Typhoon PhyllisWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 4120 kt · 945 mb
• Typhoon SusanWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 165 kt · 980 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Depression
• Typhoon TessWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 4125 kt · 940 mb
• Tropical Storm ViolaWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Storm60 kt · 975 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Depression990 mb
• Tropical Storm WinnieWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Storm60 kt · 990 mb
• Typhoon AliceWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 290 kt · 965 mb
• Super Typhoon BettyWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 4135 kt · 910 mb
• Typhoon CoraWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 165 kt · 975 mb
• Tropical Storm DorisWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Storm55 kt · 985 mb
• Tropical Depression DorisWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Depression992 mb
• Typhoon ElsieWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 175 kt · 975 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Depression
• Typhoon FlossieWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 175 kt · 975 mb
• Typhoon HelenWestern Pacific · 1972 · 87 deathsCat 3100 kt · 955 mb
• Tropical Storm GraceWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Storm50 kt · 990 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Depression30 kt
• Typhoon IdaWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 3110 kt · 930 mb
• Typhoon LornaWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 175 kt · 990 mb
• Tropical Storm KathyWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Storm60 kt · 980 mb
• Typhoon MarieWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 4115 kt · 935 mb
• Typhoon NancyWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 3105 kt · 945 mb
• Typhoon OlgaWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 3105 kt · 940 mb
• Typhoon PamelaWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 3110 kt · 940 mb
• Tropical Depression PamelaWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Depression
• Typhoon ThereseWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 3105 kt · 945 mb
• Typhoon SallyWestern Pacific · 1972Cat 180 kt · 985 mb
• Tropical Storm VioletWestern Pacific · 1972Tropical Storm55 kt · 995 mb

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.

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.

• Wikipedia article: Typhoon Rita