Track map & timeline · Atlantic · August 29 – September 15, 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 Frederic (1979) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1979 Atlantic season. It formed on August 29, 1979, 303 mi SSW of Praia, Cabo Verde, reached its peak of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 943 mb on September 12, 1979, and never made landfall. It rapidly intensified by 35 mph in 24 hours (to 127 mph on September 12, 1979). The storm lasted 16.8 days and travelled about 6,354 miles (10,224 km).
02 · Intensity
03 · Impact
| City | Distance to center | When (UTC) | Storm strength then |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan, Puerto Rico | 25 mi | Sep 4 · 14:00 UTC | TS 52 mph |
| Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | direct hit | Sep 6 · 00:00 UTC | TS 46 mph |
| Santo Domingo Oeste, Dominican Republic | direct hit | Sep 6 · 00:00 UTC | TS 46 mph |
| Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic | direct hit | Sep 6 · 00:00 UTC | TS 46 mph |
| Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic | direct hit | Sep 6 · 06:00 UTC | TS 40 mph |
| Santiago de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba Province, Cuba | 19 mi | Sep 7 · 06:00 UTC | TD 29 mph |
| Camagüey, Camagüey, Cuba | 33 mi | Sep 7 · 19:00 UTC | TD 30 mph |
| Havana, Havana, Cuba | 63 mi | Sep 10 · 02:00 UTC | TS 65 mph |
| Nashville, Tennessee | 43 mi | Sep 14 · 02:00 UTC | TS 44 mph |
| Québec, Quebec, Canada | 52 mi | Sep 14 · 22:00 UTC | TD 35 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 29 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1009 mb | 11.0°N 25.5°W | open ocean |
| Aug 29 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1009 mb | 11.1°N 28.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 29 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1008 mb | 11.2°N 30.5°W | open ocean |
| Aug 30 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1007 mb | 11.3°N 32.5°W | open ocean |
| Aug 30 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1006 mb | 11.4°N 34.2°W | open ocean |
| Aug 30 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1005 mb | 11.5°N 36.0°W | open ocean |
| Aug 30 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1003 mb | 11.6°N 37.8°W | open ocean |
| Aug 31 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1000 mb | 11.7°N 39.7°W | open ocean |
| Aug 31 06:00 | TS | 58 mph | 997 mb | 11.8°N 41.6°W | open ocean |
| Aug 31 12:00 | TS | 63 mph | 994 mb | 11.9°N 43.5°W | open ocean |
| Aug 31 18:00 | TS | 63 mph | 991 mb | 12.0°N 45.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 1 00:00 | TS | 69 mph | 988 mb | 12.5°N 47.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 1 06:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 987 mb | 12.9°N 48.7°W | open ocean |
| Sep 1 12:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 988 mb | 13.3°N 50.4°W | open ocean |
| Sep 1 18:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 990 mb | 13.8°N 52.3°W | open ocean |
| Sep 2 00:00 | TS | 69 mph | 992 mb | 14.3°N 54.1°W | open ocean |
| Sep 2 06:00 | TS | 69 mph | 994 mb | 14.9°N 55.5°W | open ocean |
| Sep 2 12:00 | TS | 69 mph | 996 mb | 15.5°N 57.2°W | open ocean |
| Sep 2 18:00 | TS | 63 mph | 999 mb | 16.3°N 58.8°W | 164 mi E of Saint-François, Guadeloupe |
| Sep 3 00:00 | TS | 63 mph | 1002 mb | 16.7°N 59.8°W | 102 mi ENE of Saint-François, Guadeloupe |
| Sep 3 06:00 | TS | 63 mph | 1000 mb | 17.1°N 60.8°W | 64 mi NE of Le Moule, Guadeloupe |
| Sep 3 12:00 | TS | 58 mph | 999 mb | 17.5°N 61.8°W | 26 mi N of Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda |
| Sep 3 18:00 | TS | 58 mph | 1000 mb | 17.8°N 62.8°W | 35 mi N of Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis |
| Sep 4 00:00 | TS | 58 mph | 1002 mb | 18.0°N 63.8°W | 65 mi ENE of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Sep 4 06:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1003 mb | 18.1°N 64.8°W | 19 mi SSE of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Sep 4 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1004 mb | 18.1°N 65.8°W | near Humacao, Puerto Rico |
| Sep 4 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1005 mb | 18.1°N 66.8°W | near Yauco, Puerto Rico |
| Sep 5 00:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1006 mb | 18.0°N 67.8°W | 46 mi WSW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico |
| Sep 5 06:00 | TS | 52 mph | 1007 mb | 17.5°N 68.7°W | 66 mi SSE of La Romana, Dominican Republic |
| Sep 5 12:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1008 mb | 17.4°N 69.2°W | 72 mi SSW of La Romana, Dominican Republic |
| Sep 5 18:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1007 mb | 17.8°N 69.6°W | 50 mi SSE of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Sep 6 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1005 mb | 18.5°N 69.9°W | near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Sep 6 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1005 mb | 19.4°N 70.7°W | near Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic |
| Sep 6 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1006 mb | 19.9°N 71.8°W | 11 mi WNW of San Fernando de Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic |
| Sep 6 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1006 mb | 20.0°N 73.0°W | 12 mi WNW of Port-de-Paix, Haiti |
| Sep 7 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1006 mb | 20.1°N 74.5°W | 17 mi S of Baracoa, Guantánamo Province, Cuba |
| Sep 7 06:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1006 mb | 20.3°N 75.8°W | near San Luis, Santiago de Cuba Province, Cuba |
| Sep 7 12:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1005 mb | 20.6°N 77.0°W | near Río Cauto, Granma Province, Cuba |
| Sep 7 18:00 | TD | 29 mph | 1004 mb | 20.9°N 78.0°W | 13 mi N of Santa Cruz del Sur, Camagüey, Cuba |
| Sep 8 00:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1003 mb | 21.1°N 78.7°W | 37 mi WSW of Vertientes, Camagüey, Cuba |
| Sep 8 06:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1003 mb | 21.3°N 79.3°W | 33 mi S of La Sierpe, Sancti Spíritus Province, Cuba |
| Sep 8 12:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1002 mb | 21.5°N 79.8°W | 24 mi SSE of Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus Province, Cuba |
| Sep 8 18:00 | TD | 35 mph | 1002 mb | 21.6°N 80.5°W | 38 mi S of Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos Province, Cuba |
| Sep 9 00:00 | TS | 40 mph | 1001 mb | 21.7°N 81.0°W | 47 mi SW of Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos Province, Cuba |
| Sep 9 06:00 | TS | 46 mph | 1000 mb | 21.8°N 81.5°W | 56 mi SSW of Jagüey Grande, Matanzas Province, Cuba |
| Sep 9 12:00 | TS | 52 mph | 999 mb | 21.9°N 82.0°W | 52 mi E of Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba |
| Sep 9 18:00 | TS | 58 mph | 997 mb | 22.0°N 82.5°W | 21 mi ENE of Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba |
| Sep 10 00:00 | TS | 63 mph | 995 mb | 22.4°N 83.0°W | 22 mi S of San Cristobal, Artemisa, Cuba |
| Sep 10 06:00 | TS | 69 mph | 992 mb | 22.7°N 83.3°W | near Los Palacios, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| Sep 10 12:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 990 mb | 22.8°N 83.6°W | 14 mi NNE of Viñales, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| Sep 10 18:00 | Cat 1 | 81 mph | 987 mb | 23.0°N 83.8°W | 27 mi NNW of Viñales, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| Sep 11 00:00 | Cat 1 | 86 mph | 985 mb | 23.3°N 84.0°W | 49 mi N of Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| Sep 11 06:00 | Cat 1 | 92 mph | 983 mb | 23.8°N 84.4°W | 89 mi NNW of Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| Sep 11 12:00 | Cat 2 | 98 mph | 980 mb | 24.4°N 84.8°W | 136 mi NNW of Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| Sep 11 18:00 | Cat 2 | 109 mph | 968 mb | 25.0°N 85.2°W | 185 mi NNW of Minas de Matahambre, Pinar del Río, Cuba |
| Sep 12 00:00 | Cat 3 | 115 mph | 960 mb | 25.7°N 85.8°W | open ocean |
| Sep 12 06:00 | Cat 3 | 127 mph | 952 mb | 26.5°N 86.4°W | open ocean |
| Sep 12 12:00 | Cat 4 | 132 mph | 943 mb | 27.4°N 87.0°W | open ocean |
| Sep 12 18:00 | Cat 4 | 132 mph | 950 mb | 28.4°N 87.7°W | 128 mi S of Gulf Shores, Alabama |
| Sep 13 00:00 | Cat 4 | 132 mph | 946 mb | 29.7°N 88.0°W | 42 mi SSW of Gulf Shores, Alabama |
| Sep 13 06:00 | Cat 2 | 109 mph | 955 mb | 30.8°N 88.5°W | 28 mi WNW of Mobile, Alabama |
| Sep 13 12:00 | Cat 1 | 75 mph | 975 mb | 32.2°N 88.7°W | 11 mi S of Meridian, Mississippi |
| Sep 13 18:00 | TS | 52 mph | 985 mb | 34.0°N 88.0°W | 43 mi NE of Columbus, Mississippi |
| Sep 14 00:00 | TS | 46 mph | 990 mb | 35.2°N 87.0°W | 19 mi E of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee |
| Sep 14 06:00 | TS | 40 mph | 996 mb | 37.0°N 84.5°W | near Somerset, Kentucky |
| Sep 14 12:00 | TS | 40 mph | 997 mb | 39.5°N 81.0°W | 25 mi ENE of Marietta, Ohio |
| Sep 14 18:00 | TD extratropical | 35 mph | 998 mb | 42.5°N 76.0°W | 12 mi SE of Cortland, New York |
| Sep 15 00:00 | TD extratropical | 35 mph | 988 mb | 48.0°N 68.0°W | 39 mi SE of Rimouski, Quebec, Canada |
⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track
Questions
No — the NOAA best-track record shows no landfall for Frederic. Its closest approach to a major city was 2 miles from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
At its peak on September 12, 1979, Frederic was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 132 mph (213 km/h) and a central pressure of 943 mb.
16.8 days, from August 29, 1979 to September 15, 1979, including 96 hours at hurricane strength (30 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 6,354 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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