1979 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1979 Atlantic hurricane season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. It officially started June 1, 1979, and lasted until November 30, 1979.
Notable storms of 1979 include Hurricane David and Hurricane Frederic.
Hurricane David was a Cape Verde-type hurricane that made landfall in the Dominican Republic near Santo Domingo at Category 5 strength. The storm travelled north and tracked up the Florida coastline until it finally made landfall at greatly reduced strength near Savannah Beach, Georgia. David killed roughly 2060, most in the Dominican Republic. Damages to the United States were minimal, but the Dominican Republic and Dominica suffered widespread damage.
Hurricane Frederic became one of the costliest hurricanes on record when it made landfall near the border between Mississippi and Alabama. Frederic caused over $2.3 billion ($5.0 billion in 2000 dollars) in damage, and was the most expensive storm to hit the US until Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Frederic still holds a position as the seventh most expensive hurricane to hit the US, both with and without adjustments for inflation. Nine deaths were directly attributed to Hurricane Frederic.
The 1979 Atlantic Hurricane Season was the first season to use a full list of pre-chosen names since naming of storms began. It is also the first season to be composed of male and female names. 1979's Hurricane Bob is the first intentional male Hurricane since naming began.
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 a hundred miles northeast of Barbados. Ana crossed the
Leeward Islands and weakened into a tropical depression. The storm dissipated the next morning.
Hurricane Bob
Bob was a weak
hurricane that formed in the western
Gulf of Mexico and curved northeast. Bob 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 one person and causing $20 million in damage.
Tropical Storm Claudette
 |
Storm path |
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 mid-
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. Damages from flooding in Texas were enormous, totaling $400 million dollars. Claudette was one of the costliest storms on record that never reached hurricane intensity.
Hurricane David
Main article: Hurricane David
David ranks as one of the strongest and deadliest storms on record. It formed in the mid-Atlantic east of the Windward Islands from a
tropical wave. 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.
Hispaniola worked its magic though; 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 had 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 $320 million in damage.
Tropical Storm Elena
Tropical Depression Five formed in the
Gulf of Mexico on
August 30 and strengthened into Tropical Storm Elena on
August 30th. 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 in damage but managed to kill two people in floods.
Hurricane Frederic
Main article: Hurricane Frederic
Frederic was a long-lived
Cape Verde-type hurricane. It first became a hurricane in the mid-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 he reached a point just east of the
Mississippi River Delta, Frederic was a Category 4. It made landfall near the
Alabama/
Mississippi border. Thanks to prior warning, the death toll was a minimal five people; however, damages soared to $2.3 billion dollars.
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 mid-Atlantic with sustained winds of 95 miles per hour and a central pressure of 975
millibars. Gloria became
extratropical over the north Atlantic two days later.
Hurricane Henri
Henri was a weak hurricane that took an unusual track through the Gulf of Mexico. It formed as a tropical depression off
Cancun 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 he 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.
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 headed north and continued to strengthen. The storm briefly reached hurricane strength before weakening back into a tropical storm. The storm made landfall on
Newfoundland on the 25th and dissipated later that day. No damage was reported.
The following names were used for named storms that formed in the north Atlantic in 1979. The names not retired from this list were used again in the
1985 season. This season was the first in which men's names were included on the list. Names that were not assigned are marked in
gray.
* Ana
* Bob
* Claudette
* David
* Elena
* Frederic
* Gloria |
* Henri
* Isabel (unused)
* Juan (unused)
* Kate (unused)
* Larry (unused)
* Mindy (unused)
* Nicholas (unused) |
* Odette (unused)
* Peter (unused)
* Rose (unused)
* Sam (unused)
* Teresa (unused)
* Victor (unused)
* Wanda (unused) |
Retirement
The
World Meteorological Organization retired two names in the
spring of
1980: David and Frederic. They were replaced in
1985 by Danny and Fabian.
*
Lists of tropical cyclone names*
List of notable tropical cyclones* [ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/storm_archives/atlantic/prelimat/atl1979/ Detailed information on all storms from 1979]
