1979 Atlantic hurricane season
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 Season summary map |
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| First storm formed: | June 19, 1979 |
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| Last storm dissipated: | October 25, 1979 |
| Strongest storm: | David - 924 mbar (27.29 inHg), 175 mph (280 km/h) |
| Total storms: | 9 |
| Major storms (Cat. 3+): | 2 |
| Total damage: | $4.27 billion (1979 USD) $12.1 billion (2005 USD) |
| Total fatalities: | 2078 |
| Atlantic hurricane seasons 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 |
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The 1979 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1979, and lasted until November 30, 1979. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin.
The most notable storms of 1979 were Hurricane David, a Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale that killed over 2,000 people, mostly in the Dominican Republic; and Hurricane Frederic, which caused $2.3 billion (1979 US dollars; $6.5 billion in 2005 USD) and became the most expensive hurricane in United States history (at the time) when it made landfall near the border between Mississippi and Alabama.
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[edit] Storms
[edit] Tropical Storm Ana
Ana formed as a tropical depression east of the Lesser Antilles. She was one of the first tropical storms to develop that far east during the month of June. The depression curved gently northwest and strengthened into Tropical Storm Ana while 100 miles northeast of Barbados. Ana crossed the Leeward Islands and weakened into a tropical depression. The storm dissipated the next morning.
[edit] Hurricane Bob
Bob was a weak hurricane that formed in the western Gulf of Mexico and curved northeast. The storm strengthened rapidly, reaching hurricane strength a couple hundred miles south of the Louisiana coast on July 11. It made landfall near Dulac, Louisiana later that day, killing two people and causing $20 million ($56.6 million in 2005 USD) in damages. Bob dropped 3-5 inches of rain over southern Indiana before looping over the mid-Atlantic states and out into the Atlantic Ocean. The storm finally dissipated on July 16.
Bob was the first July hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico since the 1959 season as well as the first Atlantic hurricane to have a male name from the new alternating male-female lists. [1].
[edit] Tropical Storm Claudette
- Main article: Tropical Storm Claudette (1979)
Claudette was a long-lived (July 15 - July 29) but fairly weak storm that spent almost its entire life as a tropical depression. Claudette formed in the central Atlantic east of the Windward Islands. It had two spells as a tropical storm; the first was a brief one east of Puerto Rico. The storm passed directly over the island just after weakening, where it killed one person from flooding. The depression moved casually through the Greater Antilles and moved into the Gulf of Mexico. Claudette restrengthened into a tropical storm south of Sabine, Texas and made landfall near Port Arthur, killing one person from floods. The storm stalled over Alvin, Texas on the evening of the 25th, and dropped 45 inches of rain there over the next 42 hours; this included 43 inches in 24 hours, the record 24-hour rainfall in US history at the time[citation needed]. Damages from flooding in Texas were enormous, totaling $400 million (1979 USD ($1.1 billion 2005 USD)). Claudette was one of the costliest storms on record that never reached hurricane intensity.
[edit] Hurricane David
- Main article: Hurricane David
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| David satellite picture and track map | |
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David ranks as one of the strongest and deadliest Atlantic hurricanes on record. It formed from a tropical wave in the central Atlantic east of the Windward Islands. The storm headed west, steadily strengthening. By the time David reached the Leeward Islands, it was at Category 4 intensity. David continued strengthening and reached Category 5 status south of Puerto Rico. It spent nearly two days at Category 5 intensity, storming through Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Crossing Hispaniola weakened the storm greatly however, and David exited the island as a weak Category 1. It strengthened into a Category 2 off the south Florida coast. The western eyewall crossed the shoreline near Fort Lauderdale and continued up the entire length of the coast. The beach erosion was severe. David made landfall near Savannah, Georgia as a Category 1 and dissipated inland. David killed over 2,000 people in Hispaniola, 56 people on the island of Dominica, and 12 people in the U.S. as well as causing $1.54 billion (1979 USD ($4.36 billion 2005 USD)) in damage.
[edit] Tropical Storm Elena
Tropical Depression Five formed in the Gulf of Mexico on August 30 and strengthened into Tropical Storm Elena on August 30. Elena never strengthened further and made landfall near Sargent, Texas as a weak tropical storm, rapidly degenerating as it moved inland. It caused less than $10 million dollars (1979 USD) ($28 million 2005 USD) in damage but managed to kill two people in floods.
[edit] Hurricane Frederic
- Main article: Hurricane Frederic
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| Frederic satellite picture and track map | |
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Frederic was a long-lived Cape Verde-type hurricane. It first became a hurricane in the central Atlantic east of the Windward Islands but soon weakened back into a tropical storm. Frederic crossed Hispaniola and weakened into a tropical depression. Frederic then crossed Cuba and regained tropical storm strength before entering the Gulf of Mexico. It was then that Frederic started to strengthen rapidly. By the time it reached a point just east of the Mississippi River Delta, Frederic was a Category 4. It made landfall near the Alabama/Mississippi border. Due to prior warning, the death toll was a minimal five people; however, damages soared to $2.3 billion (1979 dollars ($6.5 billion 2005 dollars)) in damage.
[edit] Hurricane Gloria
Gloria was a minor hurricane that stayed out to sea. It formed near Cape Verde and was a tropical depression for a while before beginning to strengthen. Gloria reached peak intensity in the central Atlantic with sustained winds of 95 mph and a central pressure of 975 mbar. Gloria became extratropical over the north Atlantic two days later.
[edit] Hurricane Henri
Henri was a weak hurricane that took an unusual track through the Gulf of Mexico. It formed as a tropical depression off Cancún and curved around the peninsula, entering the Bay of Campeche. Henri quickly strengthened into a tropical storm and reached hurricane strength on September 17. It soon weakened back to a tropical storm and stalled off Tampico, Mexico. Henri then doubled back the way it came, weakened into a tropical depression, and curved sharply east into the open Gulf of Mexico, dissipating in the eastern Gulf. No damage was reported. This was a rare example of a storm entering the Gulf of Mexico and dissipating without making landfall.
[edit] Subtropical Storm One
Subtropical Storm One formed south of Bermuda on October 23 and headed north. The subtropical depression grazed Bermuda and became a subtropical storm. This unnamed storm continued north and continued to strengthen. The storm briefly reached hurricane strength (though it was not a hurricane because it was not tropical) before weakening. The storm made landfall on Newfoundland on the 25th and dissipated later that day. No damage was reported.
[edit] Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
| ACE (104kt2) – Storm: Source | |||||
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| 1 | 44.0 | David | 6 | 1.62 | Claudette |
| 2 | 20.7 | Frederic | 7 | 0.980 | Elena |
| 3 | 17.4 | Gloria | 8 | 0.815 | Ana |
| 4 | 3.70 | Henri | 9 | 0.000 | Subtrop |
| 5 | 2.10 | Bob | |||
| Total= 91.2725 (91) | |||||
The table on the right shows the ACE for each storm in the season. The ACE is, broadly speaking, a measure of the power of the hurricane multiplied by the length of time it existed for, so hurricanes that lasted a long time have higher ACEs.
[edit] 1979 storm names
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1979. This season marked the debut of the current set of six lists containing both male and female names, replacing the ten-year set of female name lists introduced in 1971. The name Elena was previously used in the 1965 season, and the name Gloria was used in 1976. The names not retired from this list were used again in the 1985 season. Names that were not assigned are marked in gray.
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[edit] Retirement
- See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes
The World Meteorological Organization retired two names in the spring of 1980: David and Frederic. They were replaced in the 1985 season by Danny and Fabian.
