High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The 1973 Atlantic hurricane season was the first season to use the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, a scale developed in 1971 by Herbert Saffir and Robert Simpson used for rating the intensity of tropical cyclones. The season produced 24 tropical and subtropical cyclones, of which only 8 reached storm intensity, 4 became hurricanes, and only 1 reached major hurricane status. Although more active than the 1972 season, 1973 brought few storms of note. Nearly half of the season`s storms affected land, one of which resulted in severe damage.