Hurricane Agnes
| Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Hurricane Agnes approaching Florida
|
|
| Formed | June 14, 1972 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | June 23, 1972 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 85 mph (140 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 977 mbar (hPa); 28.85 inHg |
| Fatalities | 128 direct |
| Damage | $2.1 billion (1972 USD) |
| Areas affected | Yucatán Peninsula, western Cuba, Florida Panhandle, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York |
| Part of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Agnes was, at the time, the costliest hurricane to hit the United States in recorded history. The second tropical cyclone and first named storm of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season, Agnes developed on June 14 from the interaction of a polar front and an upper trough over the Yucatán Peninsula. Initially forming as a tropical depression, the storm headed slowly eastward and emerged into the western Caribbean Sea on June 15. Once in the Caribbean, the depression began to strengthen, and by the following day, it became Tropical Storm Agnes. Thereafter, Agnes slowly curved northward and passed just west of Cuba on June 17. Early on June 18, the storm intensified enough to be upgraded to Hurricane Agnes. Heading northward, the hurricane eventually made landfall near Panama City, Florida late on June 19. After moving inland, Agnes rapidly weakened and was only a tropical depression when it entered Georgia. The weakening trend halted as the storm crossed over Georgia and into South Carolina. While over eastern North Carolina, Agnes re-strengthened into a tropical storm on June 21, as a result of baroclinic activity. Early the following day, the storm emerged into the Atlantic Ocean before re-curving northwestward and making landfall near New York City as a strong tropical storm. Agnes quickly became an extratropical cyclone on June 23, and tracked to the northwest of Great Britain before becoming absorbed by another cyclone on July 6.
...
Wikipedia