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.