Hurricane Frances (1986)
Hurricane Frances reached Category 1 in the North Atlantic between November 18, 1986 and November 21, 1986, with a lowest pressure of 1000 mb.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Hurricane Frances, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 1986 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
- November 18, 1986 to November 21, 1986
- Peak strength
- Category 1, 75 kt (86 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 1000 mb (29.53 inHg)
- Landfall
- No; closest approach 571 km (355 mi)
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 3.8
- Fastest the center moved
- 16 kt (18 mph)
- Identifier
- AL101986
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.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 18, 18:00 | 22.8N 62.8W | 30 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 19, 00:00 | 23.5N 62.9W | 30 kt | 1008 mb | Tropical depression |
| Nov 19, 06:00 | 23.9N 62.9W | 35 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 19, 12:00 | 24.4N 62.8W | 40 kt | 1006 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 19, 18:00 | 24.8N 62.7W | 50 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 20, 00:00 | 25.8N 62.1W | 55 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 20, 06:00 | 27.0N 61.0W | 65 kt | 1001 mb | Hurricane |
| Nov 20, 12:00 | 27.8N 59.6W | 75 kt | 1000 mb | Hurricane |
| Nov 20, 18:00 | 28.5N 58.7W | 75 kt | 1000 mb | Hurricane |
| Nov 21, 00:00 | 29.1N 58.2W | 70 kt | 1001 mb | Hurricane |
| Nov 21, 06:00 | 29.7N 58.0W | 65 kt | 1002 mb | Hurricane |
| Nov 21, 12:00 | 30.4N 57.9W | 55 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Nov 21, 18:00 | 31.1N 57.9W | 45 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical storm |
Other North Atlantic storms of 1986
- Tropical Storm AndrewNorth Atlantic · 1986
- Hurricane BonnieNorth Atlantic · 1986
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1986
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1986
- Hurricane CharleyNorth Atlantic · 1986 · 15 deaths
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1986
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 1986
- Tropical Storm DanielleNorth Atlantic · 1986
- Hurricane EarlNorth Atlantic · 1986
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.