| 1972 Pacific typhoon season | |
|---|---|
 Season summary map | |
| Seasonal boundaries | |
| First system formed | January 4, 1972 |
| Last system dissipated | December 21, 1972 |
| Strongest storm | |
| Name | Rita |
| • Maximum winds | 270 km/h (165 mph) (1-minute sustained) |
| • Lowest pressure | 910 hPa (mbar) |
| Seasonal statistics | |
| Total depressions | 63 |
| Total storms | 31 |
| Typhoons | 24 |
| Super typhoons | 2 (unofficial) |
| Total fatalities | > 1,169 |
| Total damage | > $585 million (1972 USD) |
| Related articles | |
The 1972 Pacific typhoon season was an above average season, producing 31 tropical storms, 24 typhoons and 2 intense typhoons. It has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1972, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between June and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The scope of this article is limited to the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Storms that form east of the date line and north of the equator are called hurricanes; see 1972 Pacific hurricane season. Tropical Storms formed in the entire west Pacific basin were assigned a name by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Tropical depressions in this basin have the "W" suffix added to their number. Tropical depressions that enter or form in the Philippine area of responsibility are assigned a name by PAGASA (the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. This can often result in the same storm having two names.