Hurricane Fran - Meteorological History

Meteorological History

Hurricane Fran originated from a tropical wave that moved off the western coast of Africa, entering the Atlantic Ocean, on August 22, 1996. Not long after moving over water, convective banding features formed around a developing area of low pressure. Ships in the vicinity of the system confirmed that a surface circulation had formed later that day. After further development, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) initiated advisories on the system around 8:00 am EDT on August 23, designating it as Tropical Depression Six. At this time, the depression was situated to the southeast of the Cape Verde Islands. Over the following several days, little development took place as the system moved westward at 17 mph (27 km/h). The westward motion and lack of development were attributed to the low-level inflow from Hurricane Edouard located roughly 850 mi (1,370 km) west-northwest of the depression.

By August 26, the depression had become significantly disorganized, prompting the NHC to issue their initial final advisory on the system. The following day, satellite imagery depicted an improved circulation, leading to the re-issuance of advisories. However, post-storm analysis indicated that the system maintained tropical depression status during the 24 hour span. During the afternoon of August 27, the depression intensified further, becoming a tropical storm and receiving the name Fran. At this time, Tropical Storm Fran was located about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) east of the Lesser Antilles. Following a similar track as Edouard, the newly named storm maintained a west-northwest track while gaining strength.

Following the development of deep convection around Fran's center of circulation on August 29, the NHC upgraded it to a Category 1 hurricane, the lowest ranking on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, with winds of 75 mph (120 km/h). However, the hurricane weakened to a tropical storm on August 30 as it became less organized, possibly due to an interaction with Hurricane Edouard to the north. During this time, the forward motion of the storm significantly decreased and it took a more northwestward track. However, this weakening was short-lived and Fran re-attained hurricane status the following day as Edouard moved towards the Mid-Atlantic coastline. The storm also resumed its west-northwest movement as a subtropical ridge to the north strengthened.

Gradual intensification took place for the first several days of September, with Fran attaining winds of 90 mph (150 km/h) on September 3. By this point, the storm began to develop an eye and a more rapid phase of strengthening took place. Early the next day, Fran attained Category 3 intensity as its maximum sustained winds increased to 115 mph (185 km/h). A more northwesterly track also began to appear as it approached the Bahamas. Passing roughly 115 mi (185 km) east of the Bahamas, Fran attained its peak intensity on September 5 with winds of 120 mi/h (195 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 946 mbar (hPa; 27.94 inHg). The eye of Fran was roughly 29 mi (47 km) in diameter at this time.

A large hurricane, the storm's forward motion increased as it moved northwest towards The Carolinas. Around 7:30 EDT on September 6, the center of Hurricane Fran made landfall near Cape Fear, North Carolina with sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). Once overland, the storm began to rapidly weaken, degrading to a tropical storm within 12 hours. As the weakening storm moved through Virginia, the NHC further downgraded it to a tropical depression. Continuing on a northwestern track, the remnants of Fran persisted as a tropical depression through September 8, at which time it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over southern Ontario. After completing this transition, Fran turned northeastward and tracked near the Canadian-United States border before being absorbed by a frontal system on September 10.