Track map & timeline · Atlantic · July 9–16, 1979
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
Hurricane Bob (1979) was a Category 1 hurricane of the 1979 Atlantic season. It formed on July 9, 1979, 116 mi NE of Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano, Veracruz, Mexico, reached its peak of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 986 mb on July 11, 1979, and never made landfall. It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 75 mph on July 11, 1979). The storm lasted 7.0 days and travelled about 2,253 miles (3,626 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Impact
| City | Distance to center | When (UTC) | Storm strength then |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans, Louisiana | 21 mi | Jul 11 · 15:00 UTC | TS 60 mph |
| New South Memphis, Tennessee | 38 mi | Jul 12 · 09:00 UTC | TD 29 mph |
| Memphis, Tennessee | 39 mi | Jul 12 · 09:00 UTC | TD 29 mph |
| Louisville, Kentucky | 28 mi | Jul 13 · 03:00 UTC | TD 29 mph |
| Lexington, Kentucky | 64 mi | Jul 13 · 09:00 UTC | TD 29 mph |
| Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky | 60 mi | Jul 13 · 09:00 UTC | TD 29 mph |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | 14 mi | Jul 13 · 10:00 UTC | TD 29 mph |
| Columbus, Ohio | 67 mi | Jul 13 · 17:00 UTC | TD 29 mph |
| Meads, Kentucky | 41 mi | Jul 13 · 18:00 UTC | TD 29 mph |
| Virginia Beach, Virginia | 18 mi | Jul 15 · 06:00 UTC | TD 23 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
| Date · UTC | Status | Wind | Pressure | Position | Nearest place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9 12:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1012 mb | 22.0°N 96.0°W | 116 mi NE of Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano, Veracruz, Mexico |
| Jul 9 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1010 mb | 22.5°N 95.3°W | 163 mi E of Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico |
| Jul 10 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1007 mb | 23.0°N 94.6°W | open ocean |
| Jul 10 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1004 mb | 23.5°N 93.8°W | open ocean |
| Jul 10 12:00 | TS | 58 mph | 998 mb | 24.0°N 93.0°W | open ocean |
| Jul 10 18:00 | TS | 63 mph | 996 mb | 25.0°N 92.3°W | open ocean |
| Jul 11 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 988 mb | 26.2°N 91.6°W | open ocean |
| Jul 11 06:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 991 mb | 27.8°N 91.1°W | 126 mi S of Houma, Louisiana |
| Jul 11 12:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 986 mb | 29.1°N 90.6°W | 35 mi SSE of Houma, Louisiana |
| Jul 11 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | 992 mb | 31.0°N 90.2°W | 23 mi SE of McComb, Mississippi |
| Jul 12 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 998 mb | 32.5°N 89.9°W | 13 mi ENE of Madison, Mississippi |
| Jul 12 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1002 mb | 34.0°N 89.7°W | 17 mi NNE of Grenada, Mississippi |
| Jul 12 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1004 mb | 35.9°N 89.1°W | 18 mi ESE of Dyersburg, Tennessee |
| Jul 12 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1006 mb | 37.2°N 87.8°W | 19 mi WSW of Madisonville, Kentucky |
| Jul 13 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1006 mb | 38.5°N 86.5°W | 25 mi ENE of Jasper, Indiana |
| Jul 13 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1006 mb | 38.8°N 85.3°W | near North Madison, Indiana |
| Jul 13 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1007 mb | 39.0°N 84.0°W | 18 mi SSE of Goshen, Ohio |
| Jul 13 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1008 mb | 39.0°N 82.7°W | 24 mi NE of Portsmouth, Ohio |
| Jul 14 00:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1009 mb | 39.0°N 81.3°W | 23 mi SE of Parkersburg, West Virginia |
| Jul 14 06:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1009 mb | 38.7°N 80.1°W | 42 mi SSE of Clarksburg, West Virginia |
| Jul 14 12:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1010 mb | 38.3°N 78.8°W | 11 mi SSE of Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| Jul 14 18:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1010 mb | 37.9°N 77.7°W | 18 mi NNW of Short Pump, Virginia |
| Jul 15 00:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1011 mb | 37.5°N 76.5°W | 20 mi NE of Williamsburg, Virginia |
| Jul 15 06:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1011 mb | 36.8°N 76.3°W | near Chesapeake, Virginia |
| Jul 15 12:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1012 mb | 36.0°N 76.0°W | 25 mi SE of Elizabeth City, North Carolina |
| Jul 15 18:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1012 mb | 35.0°N 76.3°W | 35 mi ENE of Havelock, North Carolina |
| Jul 16 00:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1013 mb | 34.0°N 76.5°W | 65 mi SSE of Havelock, North Carolina |
| Jul 16 06:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1013 mb | 33.5°N 75.8°W | 114 mi SE of Havelock, North Carolina |
| Jul 16 12:00 | TD | 23 mph | 1014 mb | 33.0°N 75.0°W | 170 mi SE of Havelock, North Carolina |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
No — the NOAA best-track record shows no landfall for Bob. Its closest approach to a major city was 14 miles from Cincinnati, Ohio.
At its peak on July 11, 1979, Bob was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a central pressure of 986 mb.
7.0 days, from July 9, 1979 to July 16, 1979, including 18 hours at hurricane strength. It travelled about 2,253 miles.
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.
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