Cyclone Wendy path, 1972

What the record says

Wendy was a cyclone in the South Pacific and Australian region basin that lasted about 11 days, from 29 January 1972 to 9 February 1972. Its peak was Category 4 (120 kt) on 30 January 1972, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 120 kt (138 mph, 222 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 945 hPa.

• Category 4peak intensity
• 120 ktpeak wind (138 mph)
• 945 hPalowest pressure
• 11 dayslifetime

Source of the peak wind: US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (southern hemisphere). The regional forecast centre (RSMC Wellington (MetService New Zealand)) gave a peak of 85 kt on its own averaging convention (10-minute winds), so the two figures differ.

It has its own page because it reached category 4 or stronger.

This page gives the official record's figures. It does not describe the human cost of the storm, which is far larger than any wind speed or pressure here.

Where it came ashore

The record shows no landfall: the storm stayed at sea.

Countries it came within 50 km of

Strongest effect first.

• Vanuatu
• New Caledonia

How to read this track

The line joins the storm's six-hourly positions with straight lines, coloured by its intensity at each point, so it shows how the storm strengthened and weakened. The real path curved between the positions. A dashed grey stretch means the storm had become post-tropical. Records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are estimates.

Source: NOAA NCEI IBTrACS, public domain. See data sources and caveats.