Cyclone Madge (1973)
Cyclone Madge reached Category 2 in the South Pacific between February 28, 1973 and March 18, 1973, with a lowest pressure of 952 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Madge, 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
- South Pacific
- Dates
- February 28, 1973 to March 18, 1973
- Peak strength
- Category 2, 90 kt (104 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 952 mb (28.11 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 4.4
- Identifier
- SH271973
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 28, 18:00 | 8.1S 160.8E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 1, 00:00 | 8.5S 159.9E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 1, 06:00 | 9.1S 159.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 1, 12:00 | 9.5S 157.7E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 1, 18:00 | 9.7S 156.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 2, 00:00 | 9.8S 155.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 2, 06:00 | 9.9S 155.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 2, 12:00 | 9.4S 152.9E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 2, 18:00 | 9.8S 152.3E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 3, 00:00 | 10.5S 151.7E | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 3, 06:00 | 11.4S 150.7E | 60 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 3, 12:00 | 12.5S 149.3E | 70 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 3, 18:00 | 13.6S 147.8E | 80 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 4, 00:00 | 14.4S 146.4E | 75 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 4, 06:00 | 14.9S 144.9E | 65 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 4, 12:00 | 15.2S 143.1E | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 4, 18:00 | 15.4S 141.2E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 5, 00:00 | 15.4S 139.7E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 5, 06:00 | 15.4S 138.4E | 35 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 12:00 | 15.4S 137.2E | 30 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 5, 18:00 | 15.3S 136.0E | 30 kt | 985 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 00:00 | 15.1S 134.9E | 25 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 6, 06:00 | 14.8S 133.9E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 6, 12:00 | 14.5S 132.9E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 6, 18:00 | 14.2S 132.0E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 7, 00:00 | 14.4S 130.6E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 7, 06:00 | 14.8S 129.2E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 7, 12:00 | 15.0S 128.5E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 7, 18:00 | 15.2S 128.1E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 8, 00:00 | 15.4S 127.4E | 20 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 8, 06:00 | 15.7S 126.7E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 8, 12:00 | 16.0S 126.2E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 8, 18:00 | 16.4S 125.7E | 25 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 9, 00:00 | 16.8S 125.2E | 30 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 9, 06:00 | 17.1S 124.6E | 30 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 12:00 | 17.0S 123.9E | 35 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 9, 18:00 | 16.8S 123.1E | 40 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 10, 00:00 | 16.9S 122.3E | 45 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 10, 06:00 | 17.1S 121.4E | 50 kt | Tropical storm | |
| Mar 10, 12:00 | 17.7S 120.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 10, 18:00 | 18.3S 118.9E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 11, 00:00 | 18.4S 118.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 11, 06:00 | 18.4S 117.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 11, 12:00 | 18.5S 115.4E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 11, 18:00 | 18.7S 113.8E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 12, 00:00 | 18.8S 112.1E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 12, 06:00 | 18.8S 110.6E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 12, 12:00 | 18.8S 109.1E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 12, 18:00 | 18.8S 107.8E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 13, 00:00 | 19.0S 106.5E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 13, 06:00 | 19.4S 105.3E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 13, 12:00 | 19.9S 104.5E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 13, 18:00 | 20.4S 103.9E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 14, 00:00 | 20.7S 103.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 14, 06:00 | 20.7S 102.3E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 14, 12:00 | 20.7S 101.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 14, 18:00 | 20.6S 99.5E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 15, 00:00 | 20.4S 97.7E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 15, 06:00 | 20.1S 95.9E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 15, 12:00 | 19.9S 94.3E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 15, 18:00 | 19.6S 93.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 16, 00:00 | 19.6S 92.3E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 16, 06:00 | 19.7S 91.9E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 16, 12:00 | 19.7S 91.5E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 16, 18:00 | 19.8S 91.2E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 17, 00:00 | 19.9S 90.8E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 17, 06:00 | 20.1S 90.6E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 17, 12:00 | 20.2S 90.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 17, 18:00 | 20.2S 89.0E | Tropical storm | ||
| Mar 18, 00:00 | 20.1S 87.1E | Tropical storm |
Other South Pacific storms of 1973
- Cyclone BebeSouth Pacific · 1973
- Tropical Storm ColletteSouth Pacific · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1973
- Cyclone DianaSouth Pacific · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1973
- Tropical Storm FelicitySouth Pacific · 1973
- Cyclone AdelineSouth Pacific · 1973
- Tropical Depression GlendaSouth Pacific · 1973
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Pacific · 1973
- Tropical Storm ElenoreSouth Pacific · 1973
- Tropical Storm GlendaSouth Pacific · 1973
- Cyclone KirstySouth Pacific · 1973
- Cyclone LeahSouth Pacific · 1973
- Tropical Storm HenriettaSouth Pacific · 1973
- Tropical Depression HenriettaSouth Pacific · 1973
- Tropical Storm JulietteSouth Pacific · 1973
- Tropical Depression JulietteSouth Pacific · 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.