The 1972 season

Typhoon Susan (1972)

Typhoon Susan reached Category 1 in the Western Pacific between July 5, 1972 and July 17, 1972, with a lowest pressure of 980 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Susan, 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
July 5, 1972 to July 17, 1972
Peak strength
Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
Lowest pressure
980 mb (28.94 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
7.9
Identifier
WP091972

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
Jul 5, 00:0011.4N 126.4E20 ktMixed
Jul 5, 06:0012.1N 125.4E25 ktTropical storm
Jul 5, 12:0012.9N 124.3E25 ktTropical storm
Jul 5, 18:0013.5N 123.2E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 6, 00:0014.2N 122.2E25 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 6, 06:0014.7N 121.9E30 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 6, 12:0015.2N 121.3E30 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 6, 18:0015.5N 120.9E30 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Jul 7, 00:0016.0N 120.4E30 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Jul 7, 06:0016.6N 119.8E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 7, 12:0017.0N 118.5E40 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 7, 18:0017.4N 117.2E40 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 8, 00:0017.6N 117.0E45 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jul 8, 06:0018.1N 117.3E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 8, 12:0019.0N 117.8E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 8, 18:0019.4N 117.7E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 9, 00:0019.7N 117.5E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 9, 06:0020.1N 117.1E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 9, 12:0020.5N 116.6E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 9, 18:0020.6N 116.2E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 10, 00:0020.3N 116.0E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 10, 06:0020.2N 116.1E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 10, 12:0020.4N 116.2E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 10, 18:0020.6N 116.2E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 11, 00:0021.0N 116.5E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 11, 06:0021.5N 116.6E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 11, 12:0021.7N 116.8E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 11, 18:0022.0N 117.0E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 12, 00:0022.2N 117.1E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 12, 06:0022.0N 116.9E50 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 12, 12:0021.8N 116.5E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 12, 18:0021.7N 116.2E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 13, 00:0021.9N 116.1E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 13, 06:0022.0N 116.2E40 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 13, 12:0022.3N 116.6E45 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 13, 18:0022.7N 117.0E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 14, 00:0022.8N 117.5E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 14, 06:0023.4N 118.0E45 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 14, 12:0023.8N 118.3E30 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 14, 18:0024.3N 118.7E20 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 15, 00:0024.8N 119.0E15 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 15, 06:0026.0N 118.6E15 kt996 mbMixed
Jul 15, 12:0027.2N 117.3E10 kt998 mbMixed
Jul 15, 18:0028.0N 116.2E10 kt998 mbMixed
Jul 16, 00:0028.7N 115.4E10 kt1000 mbMixed
Jul 16, 06:0029.7N 114.7E5 kt1000 mbMixed
Jul 16, 12:0031.0N 114.0E5 kt1000 mbMixed
Jul 16, 18:0031.2N 113.4E1000 mbMixed
Jul 17, 00:0032.2N 113.0EDisturbance

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.