The 1973 season

Typhoon Ellen (1973)

Typhoon Ellen reached Category 3 in the Western Pacific between July 16, 1973 and July 29, 1973, with a lowest pressure of 940 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon 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.

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The storm

Basin
Western Pacific
Dates
July 16, 1973 to July 29, 1973
Peak strength
Category 3, 105 kt (121 mph)
Lowest pressure
940 mb (27.76 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
9.5
Identifier
WP061973

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)PositionWindPressureStatus
Jul 16, 00:0020.0N 136.1E1008 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 06:0020.1N 136.8E1008 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 12:0020.3N 137.7E1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 16, 18:0020.6N 138.3E1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 00:0019.9N 138.0E30 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 06:0020.5N 138.6E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 12:0021.1N 139.2E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 17, 18:0021.7N 139.1E50 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 18, 00:0022.3N 138.8E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jul 18, 06:0022.5N 138.4E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jul 18, 12:0022.8N 138.3E75 kt965 mbTropical storm
Jul 18, 18:0023.5N 138.1E85 kt950 mbTropical storm
Jul 19, 00:0024.5N 138.2E100 kt940 mbTropical storm
Jul 19, 06:0025.7N 138.3E105 kt940 mbTropical storm
Jul 19, 12:0026.9N 138.4E90 kt955 mbTropical storm
Jul 19, 18:0028.2N 138.4E80 kt960 mbTropical storm
Jul 20, 00:0029.5N 138.2E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Jul 20, 06:0030.7N 137.7E55 kt980 mbTropical storm
Jul 20, 12:0031.6N 137.1E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Jul 20, 18:0031.9N 136.7E50 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 00:0032.2N 136.5E50 kt992 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 06:0032.2N 136.3E45 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 12:0032.0N 136.2E40 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 21, 18:0031.8N 136.3E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 00:0031.5N 136.4E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 06:0031.1N 136.1E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 12:0030.8N 135.7E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 22, 18:0031.0N 134.5E35 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 00:0030.9N 133.8E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 06:0030.8N 132.1E30 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 12:0030.3N 131.3E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 23, 18:0030.1N 130.9E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 00:0030.3N 130.4E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 06:0030.6N 129.8E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 12:0030.9N 129.6E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 24, 18:0031.3N 129.5E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 25, 00:0031.7N 129.6E25 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 25, 06:0032.2N 129.9E20 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 25, 12:0032.8N 130.7E20 kt1000 mbMixed
Jul 25, 18:0033.0N 131.7E20 kt1004 mbMixed
Jul 26, 00:0033.0N 132.5E20 kt1004 mbMixed
Jul 26, 06:0032.9N 133.1E25 kt1004 mbMixed
Jul 26, 12:0032.8N 133.5E25 kt1004 mbMixed
Jul 26, 18:0032.3N 134.1E30 kt1004 mbMixed
Jul 27, 00:0032.0N 134.6E30 kt1002 mbMixed
Jul 27, 06:0031.8N 135.2E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 27, 12:0031.8N 135.6E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 27, 18:0031.9N 136.0E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Jul 28, 00:0032.1N 136.7E40 kt998 mbTropical storm
Jul 28, 06:0032.5N 137.1E45 kt994 mbTropical storm
Jul 28, 12:0033.3N 137.5E35 kt990 mbTropical storm
Jul 28, 18:0034.1N 137.5E25 kt996 mbTropical storm
Jul 29, 00:0034.6N 137.2E25 kt998 mbTropical storm

Other Western Pacific storms of 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.