Hurricane Ellen (1973)
Hurricane Ellen reached Category 3 in the North Atlantic between September 14, 1973 and September 23, 1973, with a lowest pressure of 962 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Ellen, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1973 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- September 14, 1973 to September 23, 1973
- Peak strength
- Category 3, 100 kt (115 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 962 mb (28.41 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 646 km (401 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 12.8
- Fastest the center moved
- 51 kt (59 mph)
- Identifier
- AL121973
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 12:00 | 10.5N 22.4W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 14, 18:00 | 11.3N 23.2W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 15, 00:00 | 12.2N 24.3W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 15, 06:00 | 13.1N 25.0W | 30 kt | Tropical depression | |
| Sep 15, 12:00 | 14.0N 25.7W | 40 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 15, 18:00 | 15.1N 26.8W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 16, 00:00 | 16.2N 28.1W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 16, 06:00 | 17.2N 29.4W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 16, 12:00 | 18.2N 30.7W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 16, 18:00 | 19.2N 32.2W | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 17, 00:00 | 20.2N 33.8W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 17, 06:00 | 21.1N 35.3W | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 17, 12:00 | 22.6N 36.8W | 50 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 17, 18:00 | 24.5N 38.3W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 18, 00:00 | 25.3N 39.8W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 18, 06:00 | 26.0N 41.7W | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Sep 18, 12:00 | 26.5N 43.5W | 55 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 18, 18:00 | 26.7N 45.2W | 60 kt | 995 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 19, 00:00 | 26.9N 47.0W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 19, 06:00 | 27.1N 48.7W | 65 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 19, 12:00 | 27.1N 50.1W | 70 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 19, 18:00 | 27.2N 51.5W | 75 kt | 985 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 20, 00:00 | 27.8N 52.4W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 20, 06:00 | 28.7N 53.0W | 75 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 20, 12:00 | 29.6N 53.5W | 80 kt | 984 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 20, 18:00 | 30.7N 53.9W | 80 kt | 981 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 21, 00:00 | 32.0N 54.0W | 80 kt | 977 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 21, 06:00 | 33.3N 53.9W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 21, 12:00 | 34.6N 53.4W | 80 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 21, 18:00 | 36.0N 52.5W | 90 kt | 962 mb | Hurricane |
| Sep 22, 00:00 | 37.5N 50.9W | 90 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 22, 06:00 | 39.5N 48.5W | 95 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 22, 12:00 | 42.1N 45.2W | 100 kt | Hurricane | |
| Sep 22, 18:00 | 44.7N 41.5W | 95 kt | 980 mb | Extratropical |
| Sep 23, 00:00 | 48.6N 37.0W | 80 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 23, 06:00 | 52.3N 31.6W | 60 kt | Extratropical | |
| Sep 23, 12:00 | 55.5N 25.0W | 50 kt | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Hurricane AliceNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Tropical Storm AlfaNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Hurricane BrendaNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Tropical Storm ChristineNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Tropical Storm DeliaNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Hurricane FranNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Tropical Storm GildaNorth Atlantic · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1973
What this means
A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.
Sources
Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.
The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.