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Hurricane Fran (1996)

Hurricane Fran was a Category 3 hurricane at its peak, with 121 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 946 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 10 of the cities we track; the strongest was Wilmington, NC, with a modeled peak gust of 115 mph.

Peak strength121 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 3
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
10
LandfallsFirst September 6, 1996
1
Lowest pressure
946 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Fran’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. September 6, 1996, Category 3 at 115 mph, about 22 miles from Wilmington, NC

Modeled winds at cities (10)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Wilmington, NC115 mph94 mph15 milesSep 5, 1996, 7:45 PM EDT
Myrtle Beach, SC102 mph83 mph51 milesSep 5, 1996, 8:30 PM EDT
Fayetteville, NC88 mph72 mph17 milesSep 5, 1996, 9:45 PM EDT
Raleigh, NC75 mph61 mph10 milesSep 6, 1996, 12:00 AM EDT
Durham, NC69 mph56 mph3 milesSep 6, 1996, 12:00 AM EDT
Charleston, SC65 mph53 mph121 milesSep 5, 1996, 8:30 PM EDT
Columbia, SC56 mph45 mph147 milesSep 5, 1996, 8:30 PM EDT
Greensboro, NC55 mph45 mph52 milesSep 5, 1996, 10:00 PM EDT
Charlotte, NC52 mph43 mph118 milesSep 5, 1996, 8:30 PM EDT
Winston-Salem, NC50 mph41 mph76 milesSep 5, 1996, 9:00 PM EDT

What happened

After crossing the Atlantic from near the Cape Verde Islands, Fran came ashore at the Cape Fear area of North Carolina around 0030 UTC September 6, 1996 (8:30 p.m. EDT September 5), as a Category 3 hurricane with 100-knot (115 mph) winds and a 954 mb central pressure.1,2 Measured gusts reached 91 knots (105 mph) at the Southport pilot office, 87 knots (100 mph) at Atlantic Beach and Greenville, 75 knots (86 mph) at Wilmington's airport and 69 knots (79 mph) at Raleigh-Durham.1

Water marks inside buildings showed 8 to 12 feet of storm surge southwest of Cape Lookout, and the storm tide reached up to 12 feet from Carolina Beach to Topsail Island.1,2 Many beachfront homes at Wrightsville Beach lost their first floors to the surge, and Topsail Island was breached in six places with 331 homes destroyed.2 Surge pushed up the rivers to 10 feet at New Bern and 9 feet at Belhaven and Washington, flooding most of downtown Washington.2

In Wilmington, 75 percent of homes had some damage and 24 percent had major damage.2 In Raleigh, falling oaks damaged houses, and Crabtree Creek rose 7 feet above flood stage, flooding a shopping mall and nearby neighborhoods.2 NWS Raleigh puts damage to homes and businesses in North Carolina at about $2.3 billion, including more than $900 million to homes and commercial property in Wake County.3 NWS Wilmington, citing NHC, lists 26 deaths and $4.16 billion in damage from Fran.2

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report: Hurricane Fran, 23 August to 8 September 1996
  2. 2. NWS Wilmington, NC: Hurricane Fran: September 5-6, 1996
  3. 3. NWS Raleigh: Hurricane Fran, September 1996

Best track (72 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Aug 23, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1012 mb14.0°N, 21.0°W
Aug 23, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1011 mb14.1°N, 22.8°W
Aug 24, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1010 mb14.2°N, 24.8°W
Aug 24, 06:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1009 mb14.2°N, 26.6°W
Aug 24, 12:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1009 mb14.1°N, 28.2°W
Aug 24, 18:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1009 mb14.1°N, 29.6°W
Aug 25, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1009 mb14.1°N, 30.8°W
Aug 25, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1009 mb14.3°N, 32.0°W
Aug 25, 12:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1009 mb14.6°N, 33.4°W
Aug 25, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1009 mb14.7°N, 35.1°W
Aug 26, 00:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1009 mb14.9°N, 37.0°W
Aug 26, 06:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1009 mb15.1°N, 38.6°W
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