1973 Atlantic Hurricane Season - Season Summary

Season Summary

The first storm of the 1973 hurricane season, forming in mid-April, developed more than a month before the official start of the season. Several other short-lived, weak depressions formed before and during June; however, none reached storm intensity. The first named storm, Alice, formed on July 1. Tracking generally to the north, Alice also became the first hurricane of the season as well as the first known cyclone to impact Bermuda during July. Shortly after Alice dissipated over Atlantic Canada, another depression formed. By the end of July, two more non-developing depressions formed and the first subtropical cyclone, given the name Alfa, developed off the east coast of the United States. This storm was short-lived and dissipated on August 2 just offshore southern Maine. The first half August was relatively quiet, with only one depression forming. However, later in the month, the season's second hurricane, Brenda, formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea. Peaking just below Category 2 status on the newly introduced Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, Brenda made the first recorded landfall in the Mexican State of Campeche.

Later in August, Tropical Storm Christine became the easternmost forming tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record, developing over the western African country of Guinea on August 25. The system traveled for several thousand miles before dissipating in the eastern Caribbean Sea in early September. At the start of the month, a new tropical storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico. This storm, named Delia, became the first known cyclone to make landfall in the same city twice. After moving inland a second time, Delia eventually dissipated on September 7. As Delia dissipated another depression formed in the same region, eventually making landfall in the same city as Delia, Freeport, Texas. Another brief depression formed several days later. On September 13, the strongest storm of the season, Ellen, formed over the eastern Atlantic. After tracking northwest for several days, Ellen eventually attained hurricane status as it turned westward. Several days later, the hurricane turned northeast due to an approaching frontal system. Shortly before becoming extratropical, Ellen reached major hurricane intensity at a record northerly latitude.

In late September, a brief depression affected northern Florida before dissipating. After a week of inactivity, the second subtropical storm of the year formed over the central Atlantic. This storm, named Bravo, gradually intensified, becoming fully tropical, at which time it was renamed Fran, a few days later. Upon being renamed, Fran had intensified into a hurricane and maintained this intensity for several days before dissipating east of the Azores on October 12. A few days after Fran dissipated, the final named storm of the year formed in the central Caribbean Sea. A slow moving system, Gilda gradually intensified just below hurricane-intensity before striking Cuba and moving over the Bahamas. A few days after passing through the islands, Gilda became the first storm on record to transition from a tropical cyclone into a subtropical cyclone. A large storm, Gilda eventually became extratropical near Atlantic Canada and dissipated later that month. Around the time Gilda was dissipating, a weak depression briefly existed near the Azores. The final storm of the year was a strong depression in the southern Caribbean Sea. This system was active for less than two days but may have briefly attained tropical storm intensity as it made landfall in southern Nicaragua.