Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · August 23 – September 10, 1996
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 Fran (1996) was a Category 3 hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic season. It formed on August 23, 1996, 180 mi ESE of Praia, Cabo Verde, reached its peak of 121 mph (194 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 946 mb on September 4, 1996, and made landfall near Long Beach, North Carolina on September 6, 1996 as a Category 3 hurricane (115 mph). The storm lasted 17.5 days and travelled about 5,525 miles (8,889 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Impact
| Landfall (UTC) | Where | Strength | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 6, 1996 · 01:00 UTC | near Long Beach, North Carolina | Cat 3 115 mph | 954 mb |
| City | Distance to center | When (UTC) | Storm strength then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh, North Carolina | 10 mi | Sep 6 · 08:00 UTC | TS 65 mph |
| London, Ontario, Canada | 59 mi | Sep 8 · 00:00 UTC | TD 35 mph |
| Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | direct hit | Sep 8 · 05:00 UTC | TD 35 mph |
| Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | direct hit | Sep 8 · 08:00 UTC | TD 33 mph |
| Brampton, Ontario, Canada | 10 mi | Sep 8 · 08:00 UTC | TD 33 mph |
| Toronto, Ontario, Canada | direct hit | Sep 8 · 09:00 UTC | TD 32 mph |
| Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | 30 mi | Sep 9 · 01:00 UTC | TD 28 mph |
| Montréal, Quebec, Canada | direct hit | Sep 9 · 07:00 UTC | TD 22 mph |
| Laval, Quebec, Canada | direct hit | Sep 9 · 07:00 UTC | TD 22 mph |
| Québec, Quebec, Canada | 45 mi | Sep 9 · 21:00 UTC | TD 17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1012 mb | 14.0°N 21.0°W | 180 mi ESE of Praia, Cabo Verde |
| Aug 23 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1011 mb | 14.1°N 22.8°W | 75 mi SE of Praia, Cabo Verde |
| Aug 24 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1010 mb | 14.2°N 24.8°W | 52 mi SSW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde |
| Aug 24 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1009 mb | 14.2°N 26.6°W | 149 mi WSW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde |
| Aug 24 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1009 mb | 14.1°N 28.2°W | open ocean |
| Aug 24 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1009 mb | 14.1°N 29.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 25 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1009 mb | 14.1°N 30.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 25 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1009 mb | 14.3°N 32.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 25 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1009 mb | 14.6°N 33.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 25 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1009 mb | 14.7°N 35.1°W | open ocean |
| Aug 26 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1009 mb | 14.9°N 37.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 26 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1009 mb | 15.1°N 38.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 26 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1009 mb | 15.3°N 40.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 26 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1008 mb | 15.2°N 41.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 27 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1007 mb | 14.9°N 42.7°W | open ocean |
| Aug 27 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1006 mb | 14.7°N 43.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 27 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1005 mb | 14.6°N 44.9°W | open ocean |
| Aug 27 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1004 mb | 14.6°N 46.1°W | open ocean |
| Aug 28 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1002 mb | 14.6°N 47.5°W | open ocean |
| Aug 28 06:00 | TS | 58 mph | 1000 mb | 15.0°N 49.1°W | open ocean |
| Aug 28 12:00 | TS | 63 mph | 995 mb | 15.5°N 50.7°W | open ocean |
| Aug 28 18:00 | TS | 69 mph | 990 mb | 15.9°N 52.3°W | open ocean |
| Aug 29 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 987 mb | 16.4°N 53.7°W | open ocean |
| Aug 29 06:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 987 mb | 17.0°N 55.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 29 12:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 988 mb | 17.8°N 56.3°W | open ocean |
| Aug 29 18:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 988 mb | 18.6°N 57.5°W | open ocean |
| Aug 30 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 991 mb | 19.1°N 58.5°W | open ocean |
| Aug 30 06:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 991 mb | 19.4°N 59.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 30 12:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 989 mb | 19.8°N 60.1°W | open ocean |
| Aug 30 18:00 | TS | 69 mph | 990 mb | 20.2°N 60.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 31 00:00 | TS | 69 mph | 988 mb | 20.5°N 60.9°W | open ocean |
| Aug 31 06:00 | TS | 69 mph | 987 mb | 20.8°N 61.2°W | open ocean |
| Aug 31 12:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 984 mb | 21.1°N 61.4°W | open ocean |
| Aug 31 18:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 983 mb | 21.5°N 61.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 1 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 978 mb | 21.7°N 62.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 1 06:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 982 mb | 21.9°N 62.6°W | open ocean |
| Sep 1 12:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 982 mb | 22.2°N 63.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 1 18:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 981 mb | 22.5°N 63.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 2 00:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 978 mb | 22.9°N 64.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 2 06:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 976 mb | 23.3°N 65.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 2 12:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 976 mb | 23.6°N 66.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 2 18:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 976 mb | 23.9°N 67.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 3 00:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 977 mb | 24.2°N 69.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 3 06:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 975 mb | 24.4°N 70.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 3 12:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 973 mb | 24.7°N 71.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 3 18:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 968 mb | 25.2°N 72.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 4 00:00 | Cat 2 | 109 mph | 961 mb | 25.7°N 73.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 4 06:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 953 mb | 26.4°N 73.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 4 12:00 | Cat 3 | 121 mph | 956 mb | 27.0°N 74.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 4 18:00 | Cat 3 | 121 mph | 952 mb | 27.7°N 75.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 5 00:00 | Cat 3 | 121 mph | 946 mb | 28.6°N 76.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 5 06:00 | Cat 3 | 121 mph | 952 mb | 29.8°N 76.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 5 12:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 954 mb | 31.0°N 77.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 5 18:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 952 mb | 32.3°N 77.8°W | 115 mi SSE of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
| Sep 6 00:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 954 mb | 33.7°N 78.0°W | 37 mi S of Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Sep 6 01:00 | Cat 3 LANDFALL | 115 mph | 954 mb | 33.9°N 78.0°W | 23 mi S of Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Sep 6 06:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 970 mb | 35.2°N 78.7°W | 14 mi NE of Fayetteville, North Carolina |
| Sep 6 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | 985 mb | 36.7°N 79.0°W | 23 mi ENE of Danville, Virginia |
| Sep 6 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 995 mb | 38.0°N 79.4°W | 21 mi WSW of Staunton, Virginia |
| Sep 7 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1000 mb | 39.2°N 79.9°W | 24 mi SSE of Fairmont, West Virginia |
| Sep 7 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1001 mb | 40.4°N 80.4°W | near Weirton Heights, West Virginia |
| Sep 7 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1001 mb | 41.2°N 80.5°W | near Sharon, Pennsylvania |
| Sep 7 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1000 mb | 42.0°N 80.4°W | near Conneaut, Ohio |
| Sep 8 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 999 mb | 42.8°N 80.1°W | 10 mi ESE of Simcoe, Ontario, Canada |
| Sep 8 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 999 mb | 43.4°N 79.9°W | near Burlington, Ontario, Canada |
| Sep 8 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1000 mb | 44.0°N 79.0°W | near Brooklin, Ontario, Canada |
| Sep 8 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1001 mb | 44.5°N 77.6°W | 25 mi NNW of Belleville, Ontario, Canada |
| Sep 9 00:00 | TD extratropical | 29 mph | 1002 mb | 44.9°N 75.9°W | 20 mi SE of Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada |
| Sep 9 06:00 | TD extratropical | 23 mph | 1004 mb | 45.4°N 74.0°W | near Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada |
| Sep 9 12:00 | TD extratropical | 17 mph | 1006 mb | 45.7°N 72.3°W | 15 mi SE of Drummondville, Quebec, Canada |
| Sep 9 18:00 | TD extratropical | 17 mph | 1008 mb | 46.0°N 71.1°W | 12 mi ESE of Thetford-Mines, Quebec, Canada |
| Sep 10 00:00 | TD extratropical | 17 mph | 1010 mb | 46.7°N 70.0°W | 33 mi SE of Montmagny, Quebec, Canada |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
Fran made landfall once: near Long Beach, North Carolina on September 6, 1996 at 01:00 UTC, as a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds.
At its peak on September 4, 1996, Fran was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 121 mph (194 km/h) and a central pressure of 946 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 3 hurricane.
17.5 days, from August 23, 1996 to September 10, 1996, including 186 hours at hurricane strength (48 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 5,525 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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