| Timeline of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Season summary map | |||||
| Season boundaries | |||||
| First system formed | May 19, 2012 | ||||
| Last system dissipated | October 29, 2012 | ||||
| Strongest system | |||||
| Name | Sandy | ||||
| Maximum winds | 115 mph (185 km/h) (1-minute sustained) | ||||
| Lowest pressure | 940 mbar (hPa; 27.76 inHg) | ||||
| Longest lasting system | |||||
| Name | Nadine | ||||
| Duration | 22 days | ||||
| |||||
The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual hurricane season in the north Atlantic Ocean. For the third year in a row there were 19 named storms.[1] The season officially began on June 1, 2012, and ended on November 30, 2012, dates that conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones develop in the Atlantic basin.[2] Surprisingly, two preseason storms formed: Alberto on May 19, and Beryl on May 26. This was the first such occurrence since the 1951 season.[3] The final storm to dissipate (second-to-last to become a named storm) was Sandy, on October 29.[4][5] Altogether, ten storms became hurricanes, of which two intensified into major hurricanes.[nb 1][nb 2]
Storm impact during the season was widespread and ruinous, with the most significant storms in term of loss of life and damage being hurricanes Isaac and Sandy. A Category 1 on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, Isaac was a large system that moved ashore the coast of Louisiana on August 12; the storm resulted in 41 deaths overall.[8] Sandy, the second and final major hurricane of the season, was the largest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, with a wind diameter of more than 1,100 mi (1,800 km). The system moved ashore the southern coast of New Jersey as an extratropical cyclone in late October. During its duration as a tropical cyclone, Sandy caused at least $68 billion (2012 USD) in damage and 285 fatalities.[9][10] Sandy is the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, surpassed only by Hurricane Katrina during the 2005 season.[11]
This timeline includes information that was not operationally released, meaning that data from post-storm reviews by the National Hurricane Center, such as a storm that was not operationally warned upon, has been included. This timeline documents tropical cyclone formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, and dissipations during the season.
By convention, meteorologists use one time zone when issuing forecasts and making observations: Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and also use the 24-hour clock (where 00:00 = midnight UTC).[12] The National Hurricane Center uses both UTC and the time zone where the center of the tropical cyclone is currently located. The time zones utilized (east to west) prior to 2020 were: Atlantic, Eastern, and Central.[13] In this timeline, all information is listed by UTC first with the respective regional time included in parentheses. Additionally, figures for maximum sustained winds and position estimates are rounded to the nearest 5 units (knots, miles, or kilometers), following the convention used in the National Hurricane Center's products. Direct wind observations are rounded to the nearest whole number. Atmospheric pressures are listed to the nearest millibar and nearest hundredth of an inch of mercury.
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