Hurricane Frances (1961)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · September 30 – October 10, 1961

Peak wind

132 mph

213 km/h · Oct 7

Peak category

Cat 4

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

948 mb

Landfalls

Guadeloupe · Dominican Republic

Lifetime

10.0 d

Sep 30 – Oct 10

Distance

3,134 mi

5,042 km

ACE

19.7

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 Frances

Hurricane Frances (1961) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1961 Atlantic season. It formed on September 30, 1961, 216 mi ENE of Le Robert, Martinique, reached its peak of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 948 mb on October 7, 1961, and made landfall 2 times — first near Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Guadeloupe on October 1, 1961 as a tropical storm (58 mph). Later landfalls: 20 mi SSW of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on October 3, 1961 as a tropical storm (52 mph). It rapidly intensified by 46 mph in 24 hours (to 121 mph on October 6, 1961). The storm lasted 10.0 days and travelled about 3,134 miles (5,042 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
October 1, 1961 · 08:00 UTC	near Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Guadeloupe	TS 58 mph	—
October 3, 1961 · 05:00 UTC	20 mi SSW of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic	TS 52 mph	—

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	72 mi	Oct 3 · 09:00 UTC	TS 55 mph
Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic	69 mi	Oct 3 · 09:00 UTC	TS 55 mph
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	21 mi	Oct 10 · 01:00 UTC	TS 40 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 43 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Sep 30 06:00	TS	40 mph	—	16.0°N 58.0°W	open ocean
Sep 30 12:00	TS	46 mph	—	16.1°N 58.8°W	164 mi E of Saint-François, Guadeloupe
Sep 30 18:00	TS	52 mph	1005 mb	16.2°N 59.6°W	111 mi E of Saint-François, Guadeloupe
Oct 1 00:00	TS	52 mph	—	16.2°N 60.4°W	58 mi E of Saint-François, Guadeloupe
Oct 1 06:00	TS	58 mph	—	16.2°N 61.2°W	near Saint-François, Guadeloupe
Oct 1 08:00	TS LANDFALL	58 mph	—	16.1°N 61.6°W	near Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Guadeloupe
Oct 1 12:00	TS	52 mph	—	16.0°N 62.3°W	38 mi W of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe
Oct 1 18:00	TS	46 mph	—	15.9°N 63.3°W	104 mi SSW of Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Oct 2 00:00	TS	46 mph	1010 mb	16.0°N 64.2°W	125 mi SSE of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Oct 2 06:00	TS	52 mph	—	16.1°N 65.1°W	115 mi SSW of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Oct 2 12:00	TS	52 mph	1011 mb	16.3°N 66.0°W	117 mi S of Guayama, Puerto Rico
Oct 2 18:00	TS	52 mph	1010 mb	17.0°N 67.0°W	74 mi SSW of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Oct 3 00:00	TS	52 mph	—	17.8°N 67.9°W	57 mi WSW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Oct 3 05:00	TS LANDFALL	52 mph	—	18.3°N 68.5°W	20 mi SSW of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Oct 3 06:00	TS	52 mph	—	18.6°N 68.7°W	near Salvaleón de Higüey, Dominican Republic
Oct 3 12:00	TS	58 mph	—	19.4°N 69.2°W	16 mi NNE of Samaná, Dominican Republic
Oct 3 18:00	TS	58 mph	—	20.5°N 69.6°W	79 mi NNE of Nagua, Dominican Republic
Oct 4 00:00	TS	63 mph	1005 mb	21.8°N 70.2°W	132 mi E of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Oct 4 06:00	TS	69 mph	—	23.0°N 70.7°W	130 mi NE of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Oct 4 12:00	Cat 1	75 mph	999 mb	24.2°N 71.3°W	178 mi NNE of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Oct 4 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	—	25.4°N 71.6°W	open ocean
Oct 5 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	997 mb	26.5°N 71.8°W	open ocean
Oct 5 06:00	Cat 1	86 mph	991 mb	27.5°N 71.4°W	open ocean
Oct 5 12:00	Cat 2	104 mph	973 mb	28.4°N 70.9°W	open ocean
Oct 5 18:00	Cat 3	115 mph	963 mb	29.1°N 70.3°W	open ocean
Oct 6 00:00	Cat 3	121 mph	960 mb	29.8°N 69.5°W	open ocean
Oct 6 06:00	Cat 3	121 mph	—	30.5°N 68.8°W	open ocean
Oct 6 12:00	Cat 3	127 mph	—	31.3°N 68.2°W	open ocean
Oct 6 18:00	Cat 3	127 mph	954 mb	32.1°N 67.4°W	153 mi W of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Oct 7 00:00	Cat 4	132 mph	948 mb	33.0°N 66.3°W	100 mi WNW of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Oct 7 06:00	Cat 4	132 mph	—	34.0°N 65.2°W	120 mi NNW of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda
Oct 7 12:00	Cat 4	132 mph	—	35.2°N 64.5°W	open ocean
Oct 7 18:00	Cat 3	127 mph	—	36.5°N 64.2°W	open ocean
Oct 8 00:00	Cat 3	121 mph	—	37.9°N 64.2°W	open ocean
Oct 8 06:00	Cat 2	109 mph	—	39.1°N 64.7°W	open ocean
Oct 8 12:00	Cat 1	92 mph	—	40.1°N 65.2°W	open ocean
Oct 8 18:00	Cat 1 extratropical	81 mph	—	41.2°N 66.0°W	open ocean
Oct 9 00:00	TS extratropical	69 mph	—	42.2°N 67.0°W	162 mi ENE of Harwich, Massachusetts
Oct 9 06:00	TS extratropical	58 mph	—	43.1°N 67.8°W	122 mi ESE of Brunswick, Maine
Oct 9 12:00	TS extratropical	52 mph	—	43.5°N 68.0°W	98 mi SSE of Bangor, Maine
Oct 9 18:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	—	44.2°N 67.0°W	87 mi SSW of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Oct 10 00:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	—	44.8°N 64.5°W	19 mi S of Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Oct 10 06:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	—	45.3°N 60.5°W	60 mi SSW of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

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

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Frances make landfall?

Frances made landfall 2 times: near Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Guadeloupe on October 1, 1961 at 08:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 58 mph winds; 20 mi SSW of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on October 3, 1961 at 05:00 UTC, as a tropical storm with 52 mph winds.

What category was Frances?

At its peak on October 7, 1961, Frances was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a central pressure of 948 mb. At its first landfall it was a tropical storm.

How long did Frances last?

10.0 days, from September 30, 1961 to October 10, 1961, including 102 hours at hurricane strength (60 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 3,134 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Frances?

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

Every storm named Frances

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1961	Hurricane Frances · this page Atlantic	Cat 4 132 mph	Guadeloupe, Dominican Republic
1968	Tropical Storm Frances Atlantic	TS 58 mph	—
1976	Hurricane Frances Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→
1980	Hurricane Frances Atlantic	Cat 3 115 mph	—	→
1986	Hurricane Frances Atlantic	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1992	Hurricane Frances Atlantic	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1998	Tropical Storm Frances Atlantic	TS 63 mph	Texas	→
2004	Hurricane Frances Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	Bahamas, Florida	→

Names are recycled every six years unless a storm is so deadly or costly that the name is retired.

Strongest storms of 1961

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1961	Hurricane Hattie Atlantic	Cat 5 167 mph	Belize	→
1961	Hurricane Esther Atlantic	Cat 5 161 mph	Massachusetts, Maine	→
1961	Hurricane Carla Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	Texas	→
1961	Hurricane Betsy Atlantic	Cat 4 132 mph	—	→
1961	Hurricane Anna Atlantic	Cat 2 104 mph	Honduras, Belize	→
1961	Hurricane Debbie Atlantic	Cat 1 92 mph	Cabo Verde	→
1961	Hurricane Iva Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→
1961	Hurricane Tara Eastern Pacific	Cat 1 86 mph	—	→

See every 1961 storm on one map →

← Previous Atlantic stormHurricane Esther (1961)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Gerda (1961)

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