Track map & timeline · Atlantic · September 6–21, 1980
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 Frances (1980) was a Category 3 hurricane of the 1980 Atlantic season. It formed on September 6, 1980, 160 mi WSW of Gunjur, Gambia, reached its peak of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 958 mb on September 9, 1980, and never made landfall. It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 115 mph on September 9, 1980). The storm lasted 15.0 days and travelled about 4,849 miles (7,803 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Timeline
| Date · UTC | Status | Wind | Pressure | Position | Nearest place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6 00:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1010 mb | 12.5°N 19.0°W | 160 mi WSW of Gunjur, Gambia |
| Sep 6 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1009 mb | 12.5°N 20.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 6 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1008 mb | 12.6°N 21.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 6 18:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1005 mb | 12.7°N 21.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 7 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1002 mb | 12.8°N 22.5°W | 162 mi SSE of Praia, Cabo Verde |
| Sep 7 06:00 | TS | 52 mph | 998 mb | 12.9°N 23.2°W | 142 mi S of Praia, Cabo Verde |
| Sep 7 12:00 | TS | 63 mph | 994 mb | 13.0°N 24.0°W | 137 mi SSW of Praia, Cabo Verde |
| Sep 7 18:00 | TS | 69 mph | 990 mb | 13.0°N 24.8°W | 133 mi S of São Filipe, Cabo Verde |
| Sep 8 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 986 mb | 13.0°N 25.6°W | 151 mi SSW of São Filipe, Cabo Verde |
| Sep 8 06:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 978 mb | 13.0°N 26.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 8 12:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 12.9°N 28.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 8 18:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 12.8°N 29.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 9 00:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 960 mb | 12.8°N 29.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 9 06:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 958 mb | 12.9°N 30.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 9 12:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 960 mb | 13.0°N 31.3°W | open ocean |
| Sep 9 18:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 13.2°N 32.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 10 00:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 966 mb | 13.4°N 32.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 10 06:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 967 mb | 13.8°N 33.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 10 12:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 968 mb | 14.2°N 34.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 10 18:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 14.9°N 34.6°W | open ocean |
| Sep 11 00:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 968 mb | 15.4°N 34.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 11 06:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 16.0°N 35.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 11 12:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 967 mb | 16.3°N 35.3°W | open ocean |
| Sep 11 18:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 968 mb | 16.6°N 35.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 12 00:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 17.0°N 36.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 12 06:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 17.2°N 36.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 12 12:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 17.8°N 37.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 12 18:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 18.3°N 38.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 13 00:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 18.6°N 39.6°W | open ocean |
| Sep 13 06:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 968 mb | 18.8°N 40.6°W | open ocean |
| Sep 13 12:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 18.9°N 42.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 13 18:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 19.3°N 43.4°W | open ocean |
| Sep 14 00:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 19.8°N 44.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 14 06:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 20.2°N 45.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 14 12:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 20.8°N 46.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 14 18:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 21.6°N 48.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 15 00:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 22.5°N 48.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 15 06:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 23.3°N 49.6°W | open ocean |
| Sep 15 12:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 24.6°N 50.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 15 18:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 25.8°N 50.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 16 00:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 27.4°N 50.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 16 06:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 28.8°N 50.6°W | open ocean |
| Sep 16 12:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 30.2°N 50.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 16 18:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 31.8°N 49.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 17 00:00 | Cat 2 | 104 mph | 965 mb | 33.0°N 48.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 17 06:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 968 mb | 33.9°N 47.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 17 12:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 34.7°N 46.4°W | open ocean |
| Sep 17 18:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 35.7°N 45.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 18 00:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 36.7°N 45.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 18 06:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 37.8°N 45.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 18 12:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 970 mb | 39.0°N 46.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 18 18:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 972 mb | 40.0°N 46.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 19 00:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 974 mb | 41.2°N 46.4°W | open ocean |
| Sep 19 06:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 978 mb | 42.4°N 45.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 19 12:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 986 mb | 43.6°N 44.9°W | open ocean |
| Sep 19 18:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 986 mb | 44.5°N 43.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 20 00:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 988 mb | 45.7°N 41.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 20 06:00 | TS | 69 mph | 990 mb | 47.0°N 39.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 20 12:00 | TS | 63 mph | 994 mb | 49.4°N 35.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 20 18:00 | TS | 58 mph | 998 mb | 51.2°N 32.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 21 00:00 | TS extratropical | 52 mph | 1000 mb | 54.0°N 29.0°W | open ocean |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
No — the NOAA best-track record shows no landfall for Frances.
At its peak on September 9, 1980, Frances was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a central pressure of 958 mb.
15.0 days, from September 6, 1980 to September 21, 1980, including 294 hours at hurricane strength (18 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 4,849 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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