The 1973 season

Typhoon Iris (1973)

Typhoon Iris reached Category 2 in the Western Pacific between August 6, 1973 and August 21, 1973, with a lowest pressure of 970 mb, and made landfall.

Track and intensity

The whole track of Typhoon Iris, 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
August 6, 1973 to August 21, 1973
Peak strength
Category 2, 85 kt (98 mph)
Lowest pressure
970 mb (28.64 inHg)
Landfall
Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy
13.9
Identifier
WP101973

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
Aug 6, 12:0017.3N 142.3EDisturbance
Aug 6, 18:0017.4N 141.4E1008 mbMixed
Aug 7, 00:0017.3N 140.6E1008 mbMixed
Aug 7, 06:0017.2N 140.0E1004 mbMixed
Aug 7, 12:0017.0N 139.0E1004 mbMixed
Aug 7, 18:0016.8N 138.0E1004 mbMixed
Aug 8, 00:0016.7N 137.0E1004 mbMixed
Aug 8, 06:0016.7N 136.1E1004 mbMixed
Aug 8, 12:0016.7N 135.0E1004 mbMixed
Aug 8, 18:0016.8N 133.9E1004 mbMixed
Aug 9, 00:0017.1N 132.4E25 kt1004 mbMixed
Aug 9, 06:0017.7N 132.1E30 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Aug 9, 12:0018.4N 131.7E30 kt1004 mbTropical storm
Aug 9, 18:0019.2N 131.3E30 kt1002 mbTropical storm
Aug 10, 00:0020.2N 131.1E30 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 10, 06:0021.3N 130.9E35 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 10, 12:0022.2N 131.0E40 kt1000 mbTropical storm
Aug 10, 18:0022.8N 131.1E45 kt994 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 00:0023.2N 130.8E55 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 06:0023.4N 131.1E55 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 12:0023.2N 130.9E60 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 11, 18:0023.1N 130.8E60 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 00:0023.1N 130.8E65 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 06:0023.0N 130.8E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 12:0022.9N 131.1E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 12, 18:0023.1N 131.5E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 00:0023.3N 131.7E80 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 06:0023.4N 132.0E85 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 12:0023.6N 132.3E85 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 13, 18:0024.2N 132.5E85 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 00:0024.8N 132.2E80 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 06:0025.4N 131.7E75 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 12:0026.2N 131.1E70 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 14, 18:0027.3N 130.3E65 kt970 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 00:0028.1N 129.4E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 06:0028.8N 128.8E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 12:0029.3N 127.7E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 15, 18:0029.8N 126.9E75 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 00:0030.3N 126.1E70 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 06:0031.0N 125.6E65 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 12:0032.4N 125.1E60 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 16, 18:0033.9N 124.8E50 kt975 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 00:0035.3N 125.4E45 kt980 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 06:0037.3N 126.2E35 kt985 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 12:0039.3N 127.5E30 kt990 mbTropical storm
Aug 17, 18:0040.8N 129.8E30 kt992 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 00:0041.8N 132.6E35 kt992 mbTropical storm
Aug 18, 06:0042.8N 136.2E35 kt990 mbMixed
Aug 18, 12:0043.5N 140.0E30 kt990 mbMixed
Aug 18, 18:0043.8N 145.0E30 kt992 mbMixed
Aug 19, 00:0043.9N 149.8E30 kt992 mbMixed
Aug 19, 06:0044.0N 153.2E35 kt994 mbMixed
Aug 19, 12:0044.0N 157.0E35 kt996 mbMixed
Aug 19, 18:0044.0N 161.0E35 kt996 mbMixed
Aug 20, 00:0044.1N 165.0E35 kt998 mbMixed
Aug 20, 06:0044.4N 168.8E35 kt1000 mbMixed
Aug 20, 12:0045.5N 173.0E35 kt1000 mbMixed
Aug 20, 18:0047.0N 177.0E35 kt1000 mbMixed
Aug 21, 00:0047.8N 181.0EExtratropical

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.