Hurricane Fran

Hurricane Fran caused extensive damage in the United States in early September 1996. The sixth named storm, fifth hurricane, and fourth major hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season, Fran developed from a tropical wave near Cape Verde on August 23. Due to nearby Hurricane Edouard, the depression remained disorganized as it tracked westward, though it eventually intensified into Tropical Storm Fran on August 27. While heading west-northwestward, Fran steadily strengthened into a hurricane on August 29, but weakened back to a tropical storm on the following day. On August 31, Fran quickly re-intensified into a hurricane. By September 2, Fran began to parallel the islands of the Bahamas and slowly curved north-northwestward. Fran peaked as a 120 mph (195 km/h) Category 3 hurricane by early on September 5. Thereafter, Fran weakened slightly, before it made landfall near Cape Fear, North Carolina early on September 6. The storm rapidly weakened inland and was only a tropical depression later that day. Eventually, Fran curved east-northeastward and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over Ontario early on September 9.

In Florida, high tides capsized a boat with five people aboard, though all were rescued. No significant effects were reported in Georgia. The outerbands of Fran produced high winds and light to moderate rainfall in South Carolina. As a result, numerous trees and powerlines were downed, which damaged cars, left over 63,000 people without electricity. Large waves in North Carolina caused significant coastal flooding in some cities. Overall, Fran was attributed to 27 fatalities and $3.2 billion (1996 USD) in damage.

Read more about Hurricane Fran:  Meteorological History, Impact, Aftermath, Retirement

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