Hurricane Bob (1979)
Hurricane Bob reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between July 9, 1979 and July 16, 1979, with a lowest pressure of 986 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Bob, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1979 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- July 9, 1979 to July 16, 1979
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 986 mb (29.12 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 2.1
- Fastest the center moved
- 20 kt (23 mph)
- Identifier
- AL041979
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads publishes a machine-readable casualty or damage figure for a storm of this era. The National Hurricane Center’s season tables begin in 1995 and carry deaths and damage only from 2005 in the Atlantic and 2020 in both basins; the US Storm Events record begins in 1996.
Rainfall
The Weather Prediction Center attributes 1,462 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 7.16 inches (182 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| SPRINGVILLE FIRE TOWER | 7.16 in (182 mm) | 30.43N 90.65W |
| PASCAGOULA 3 NE | 6.64 in (169 mm) | 30.40N 88.48W |
| PLAQUEMINE 2 N | 6.00 in (152 mm) | 30.32N 91.23W |
| JACKSON INTERNATIONAL AP | 5.91 in (150 mm) | 32.32N 90.08W |
| BLOOMINGTON INDIANA UNIV | 5.72 in (145 mm) | 39.17N 86.52W |
| EDWARDSPORT POWER PLANT | 5.72 in (145 mm) | 38.80N 87.23W |
| KOSCIUSKO | 5.62 in (143 mm) | 33.07N 89.58W |
| WINCHESTER AIRPORT 3E | 5.58 in (142 mm) | 40.17N 84.92W |
| CRANE NSA | 5.48 in (139 mm) | 38.87N 86.83W |
| SPENCER | 5.38 in (137 mm) | 39.28N 86.77W |
| NEW WHITELAND | 5.36 in (136 mm) | 39.55N 86.10W |
| EUPORA 2 E | 5.33 in (135 mm) | 33.57N 89.23W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 12:00 | 22.0N 96.0W | 20 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 9, 18:00 | 22.5N 95.3W | 25 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 10, 00:00 | 23.0N 94.6W | 30 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 10, 06:00 | 23.5N 93.8W | 35 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 10, 12:00 | 24.0N 93.0W | 50 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 10, 18:00 | 25.0N 92.3W | 55 kt | 996 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 11, 00:00 | 26.2N 91.6W | 65 kt | 988 mb | Hurricane |
| Jul 11, 06:00 | 27.8N 91.1W | 65 kt | 991 mb | Hurricane |
| Jul 11, 12:00 | 29.1N 90.6W | 65 kt | 986 mb | Hurricane |
| Jul 11, 18:00 | 31.0N 90.2W | 40 kt | 992 mb | Tropical storm |
| Jul 12, 00:00 | 32.5N 89.9W | 30 kt | 998 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 12, 06:00 | 34.0N 89.7W | 25 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 12, 12:00 | 35.9N 89.1W | 25 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 12, 18:00 | 37.2N 87.8W | 25 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 13, 00:00 | 38.5N 86.5W | 25 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 13, 06:00 | 38.8N 85.3W | 25 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 13, 12:00 | 39.0N 84.0W | 25 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 13, 18:00 | 39.0N 82.7W | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 14, 00:00 | 39.0N 81.3W | 20 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 14, 06:00 | 38.7N 80.1W | 20 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 14, 12:00 | 38.3N 78.8W | 20 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 14, 18:00 | 37.9N 77.7W | 20 kt | 1010 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 15, 00:00 | 37.5N 76.5W | 20 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 15, 06:00 | 36.8N 76.3W | 20 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 15, 12:00 | 36.0N 76.0W | 20 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 15, 18:00 | 35.0N 76.3W | 20 kt | 1012 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 16, 00:00 | 34.0N 76.5W | 20 kt | 1013 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 16, 06:00 | 33.5N 75.8W | 20 kt | 1013 mb | Tropical depression |
| Jul 16, 12:00 | 33.0N 75.0W | 20 kt | 1014 mb | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Tropical Storm AnaNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Tropical Storm ClaudetteNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Hurricane DavidNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Hurricane FredericNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Tropical Storm ElenaNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Hurricane GloriaNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Hurricane HenriNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed hurricaneNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1979
What this means
A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.
Sources
Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.
The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.