Hurricane Delia (1973)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · September 2–7, 1973

Peak wind

86 mph

139 km/h · Sep 4

Peak category

Cat 1

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

986 mb

Landfalls

Texas

Lifetime

5.3 d

Sep 2 – Sep 7

Distance

1,397 mi

2,248 km

ACE

4.8

storm energy

TD TS Cat 1 2 3 4 5 · dashed = post-tropical / remnant low. Click any point or table row to jump there.

01 · The story

What happened with Delia

Hurricane Delia (1973) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1973 Atlantic season. It formed on September 2, 1973, 22 mi NE of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico, reached its peak of 86 mph (139 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 986 mb on September 4, 1973, and made landfall 2 times — first near Freeport, Texas on September 5, 1973 as a tropical storm (69 mph). Later landfalls: near Freeport, Texas on September 6, 1973 as a tropical storm (58 mph). The storm lasted 5.3 days and travelled about 1,397 miles (2,248 km).

02 · Intensity

Wind and pressure, hour by hour

Maximum sustained wind (mph) — hover or drag to scrub the map

03 · Impact

Landfalls and cities in the path

Landfall (UTC)	Where	Strength	Pressure
September 5, 1973 · 02:00 UTC	near Freeport, Texas	TS 69 mph	987 mb
September 6, 1973 · 06:00 UTC	near Freeport, Texas	TS 58 mph	988 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico	22 mi	Sep 2 · 00:00 UTC	TD 35 mph
Pasadena, Texas	45 mi	Sep 6 · 08:00 UTC	TS 54 mph
Pearland, Texas	35 mi	Sep 6 · 08:00 UTC	TS 54 mph
Houston, Texas	41 mi	Sep 6 · 09:00 UTC	TS 52 mph
Cypress, Texas	35 mi	Sep 6 · 11:00 UTC	TS 48 mph
College Station, Texas	54 mi	Sep 6 · 13:00 UTC	TS 45 mph
Austin, Texas	direct hit	Sep 6 · 17:00 UTC	TS 41 mph
Round Rock, Texas	21 mi	Sep 6 · 17:00 UTC	TS 41 mph
Killeen, Texas	61 mi	Sep 6 · 18:00 UTC	TS 40 mph
San Antonio, Texas	60 mi	Sep 6 · 19:00 UTC	TS 39 mph

Distance from the city to the storm’s center, interpolated hourly between official fixes. Damaging winds, surge and rain reach far beyond the center.

04 · Timeline

Every official fix 23 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Sep 2 00:00	TD	35 mph	1006 mb	21.4°N 86.6°W	22 mi NE of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Sep 2 06:00	TD	35 mph	—	21.9°N 86.8°W	50 mi N of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Sep 2 12:00	TD	35 mph	1005 mb	22.4°N 87.0°W	85 mi N of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Sep 2 18:00	TS	46 mph	1000 mb	23.1°N 87.4°W	138 mi NNW of Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Sep 3 00:00	TS	46 mph	1001 mb	24.0°N 88.0°W	open ocean
Sep 3 06:00	TS	52 mph	—	24.9°N 88.9°W	open ocean
Sep 3 12:00	TS	58 mph	999 mb	25.8°N 89.8°W	open ocean
Sep 3 18:00	TS	69 mph	994 mb	26.5°N 91.0°W	open ocean
Sep 4 00:00	TS	69 mph	995 mb	27.0°N 92.3°W	open ocean
Sep 4 06:00	TS	69 mph	997 mb	27.2°N 93.1°W	178 mi SE of Galveston, Texas
Sep 4 12:00	Cat 1	75 mph	993 mb	27.8°N 93.3°W	138 mi SE of Galveston, Texas
Sep 4 18:00	Cat 1	86 mph	986 mb	28.5°N 94.2°W	66 mi SSE of Galveston, Texas
Sep 5 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	987 mb	29.0°N 94.9°W	22 mi SSW of Galveston, Texas
Sep 5 02:00	TS LANDFALL	69 mph	987 mb	29.0°N 95.3°W	near Freeport, Texas
Sep 5 06:00	TS	63 mph	988 mb	28.9°N 95.7°W	17 mi ESE of Bay City, Texas
Sep 5 12:00	TS	58 mph	988 mb	28.2°N 95.9°W	53 mi ESE of Port Lavaca, Texas
Sep 5 18:00	TS	58 mph	991 mb	28.0°N 95.5°W	66 mi S of Freeport, Texas
Sep 6 00:00	TS	58 mph	988 mb	28.1°N 95.3°W	59 mi S of Freeport, Texas
Sep 6 06:00	TS LANDFALL	58 mph	988 mb	28.9°N 95.4°W	near Freeport, Texas
Sep 6 12:00	TS	46 mph	992 mb	29.8°N 96.3°W	26 mi SSE of Brenham, Texas
Sep 6 18:00	TS	40 mph	995 mb	30.3°N 98.1°W	near Lakeway, Texas
Sep 7 00:00	TD	35 mph	998 mb	30.2°N 100.0°W	52 mi WNW of Kerrville, Texas
Sep 7 06:00	TD	29 mph	1000 mb	29.2°N 101.7°W	46 mi W of Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico

⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Delia make landfall?

Delia made landfall 2 times: near Freeport, Texas on September 5, 1973 at 02:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 69 mph winds; near Freeport, Texas on September 6, 1973 at 06:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 58 mph winds.

What category was Delia?

At its peak on September 4, 1973, Delia was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 86 mph (139 km/h) and a central pressure of 986 mb. At its first landfall it was a tropical storm.

How long did Delia last?

5.3 days, from September 2, 1973 to September 7, 1973, including 14 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 1,397 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Delia?

The 6-hourly positions, winds, pressure and wind radii are available as CSV on this page (track.csv) — they come from the NOAA National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database and are in the public domain.

Related storms

Keep exploring

Strongest storms of 1973

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1973	Hurricane Ava Eastern Pacific	Cat 5 161 mph	—	→
1973	Hurricane Doreen Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
1973	Hurricane Emily Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
1973	Hurricane Ellen Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→
1973	Hurricane Irah Eastern Pacific	Cat 2 109 mph	—	→
1973	Hurricane Katherine Eastern Pacific	Cat 2 98 mph	—	→
1973	Hurricane Brenda Atlantic	Cat 1 92 mph	Campeche, Mexico, Quintana Roo, Mexico	→
1973	Hurricane Florence Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 92 mph	—	→

See every 1973 storm on one map →

Background reading: Tropical Storm Delia on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormTropical Storm Christine (1973)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Ellen (1973)

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