Hurricane Frederic

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Hurricane Frederic was the sixth tropical cyclone, third hurricane and second major hurricane of the 1979 Atlantic hurricane season. Frederic was one of the costliest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. Gulf Coast. Damage estimates vary from $1-3 billion (1979 US dollars), with variations due to inadequate reporting of private insurance claims as well as lack of hard data on uninsured damage. FEMA, which had been established only three months before Frederic hit, was the focal point for nearly $250 million in federal aid for recovery, $188 million of which went to Alabama.

Contents

1 Storm history
2 Preparations
3 Impact

3.1 Lesser Antilles
3.2 Dominican Republic
3.3 Cuba
3.4 United States

4 Aftermath

4.1 Retirement

5 See also
6 External links and sources

Storm history

Frederic, only the third hurricane given a masculine name, originated as a tropical depression off the west coast of Africa on August 29. It developed an eye on September 1 and was subsequently upgraded to a hurricane about 650 miles (1045 km) east of the Lesser Antilles. However, a weakening trend began when it approached the outflow of Hurricane David (which had passed near to the same area just days before), and the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm by September 2. Frederic passed over Puerto Rico and approached the Dominican Republic, then suddenly turned northwest during the afternoon of September 5. It passed just west of Santo Domingo on September 6. Further weakening caused Frederic to drop below tropical storm strength later on the 6th just north of Haiti. Continuing westward, Frederic crossed southeastern Cuba before paralleling the island's southern coast. During this period, Frederic eventually escaped the unfavorable conditions left behind by David and regained tropical storm strength 100 miles (160 km) east of Cuba's Isle of Youth on September 9. It grew to hurricane intensity a day later, as it moved away from the western tip of Cuba, and headed towards the Gulf Coast. By 7am local time on September 12, Frederic had reached Category 4 intensity with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph (215 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 943 mbar (HPa), and was centered about 200 miles southeast of Mobile.

Frederic came ashore at Dauphin Island Bridge, near the mouth of Mobile Bay at 10pm local time on September 12 as a Category 3 hurricane, with sustained winds of 130 mph and a central pressure of 946 mb. An hour later, it hit the coastline just west of Mobile, Alabama, near the state's border with Mississippi. A wind gust up to 145 mph (230 km/h) was officially recorded at Dauphin Island bridge.

Frederic continued north and northeast, and was downgraded to a tropical storm near Meridian, Mississippi. The eye passed across Birmingham, Alabama on its way northeast. Remnants of the storm crossed the southwest corner of Pennsylvania on September 14 and moved rapidly northeastward through Pennsylvania, New York, and western New England during the day. By evening, it exited from northern Maine; managing to bring more than three inches (80 mm) of rain to southern Québec.

Preparations

Up to 500,000 were evacuated from the U.S. Gulf Coast in anticipation of Frederic's arrival. At the time, this was the largest evacuation in Gulf Coast history.

Impact

Lesser Antilles

Frederic brought heavy rains to the the Leeward Islands; 24 inches of rain fell in 30 hours in Saint Croix. Seven deaths were reported on the island of Saint Martin.

Dominican Republic

Heavy rains were experienced for several days after the center of Frederic's circulation passed, which worsened the damage caused by David just a week earlier.

Cuba

Frederic had minimal impact in eastern Cuba, but damage estimates were high in western Cuba due to a strengthening Frederic bringing gale-force winds and heavy rains.

United States

Storm surge damage was reported along 80 miles of coastline from Mississippi to Florida, with tides 8 to 12 feet above the normal level being observed. Near-total property damage occurred along the Alabama coastline between Fort Morgan and Gulf Shores, the latter seeing 80% of its buildings completely destroyed. The causeway linking Dauphin Island to the mainland was swept away in many areas.

Wind damage was also severe, especially across southern Alabama. Structural failure was widespread in the immediate landfall area with industrial, residential and governmental buildings as well as hospitals suffering heavy damage. The historic City Hall in Mobile experienced heavy roof damage. Many small beach houses were completely destroyed by high winds before the storm surge could add any effects.

Rainfall caused by Frederic in the United States was heavy (2-4 inches fell along the hurricane's path as far as New England; 8 to 12 inches fell from Pascagoula to Mobile). Over a dozen tornadoes were also reported in Frederic's wake. However, these had minimal impact.

In all, five people were killed by the storm and its aftermath.

Frederic's intensity at landfall, based on barometric pressure readings of 27.94 inches of mercury (946 mbar or 94.6 kPa), rank it in the top 25 among U.S. hurricanes in the 20th century.

Aftermath

Eleven counties in Alabama, sixteen in Mississippi, and five in Florida were declared eligible for disaster aid.

Damage after Hurricane Frederic in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

In retrospect, Frederic has been credited with spurring redevelopment in Mobile and the surrounding Gulf Coast region. For example, in testimony before Congress in 1992, Robert Sheets (then the director of the National Hurricane Center), described the economic aftermath of Frederic:

Prior to Hurricane Frederic, there was one condominium complex on Gulf Shores, Alabama. Most of the homes were single, individual homes built behind the sand dunes. Today, where there used to be one condominium, there are now at least 104 complexes – not units, complexes – on Gulf Shores, Alabama. Many of them were damaged by Hurricane Ivan (a similar-strength storm) in September 2004 but have since been repaired or rebuilt.

Some of that development takes advantage of federal government's largesse. Dauphin Island, for example, got $32 million to rebuild the bridge destroyed by Frederic, in spite of warnings from FEMA that it would encourage development. The prediction was accurate: an island that suffered $7 million in property damage due to Frederic was host to over a quarter billion dollars in property by 2000. Since then, the barrier island has been struck by four hurricanes and has received millions more in federal disaster aid. Even the relatively weak Hurricane Georges destroyed 41 houses on the island; with help from the federal government, all their owners rebuilt. In August 2005 parts of the island were again swept clean by Hurricane Katrina.

Retirement

The name Frederic was retired, and will never again be used for an Atlantic hurricane. It was replaced with Fabian in the 1985 season.

External links and sources

[NHC archive of Hurricane Frederic]
[Hurricane Frederic] from the [United States Hurricanes] website.
[20th Anniversary of Hurricane Frederic] from FEMA website
[Hurricane Impacts on the Coastal Environment] from the USGS website
[Frederic's path] from Environment Canada website
[Observations over the NE Gulf of Mexico between June and October 1979] from a University of South Florida website
[Magazine Tells of Hurricane Frederic] from the University of Alabama website
[Uncle Sam, insurer of first resort] from a Rutgers University archive of a March 2000 Philadelphia Inquirer article

Tropical cyclones of the 1979 Atlantic hurricane season

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