Hurricane Fran was a hurricane during the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season. This storm caused over $3 billion in damage. It killed 20-30 people. Fran struck North Carolina as a strong Category 3 hurricane with winds of . The name Fran was later retired and replaced by Fay for the 2002 Atlantic season.
Storm History
Hurricane Fran started from a tropical wave that moved off the western coast of Africa, entering the Atlantic Ocean, on August 22. The low pressure area became a tropical depression on August 23. Little changed for several days. By August 26, the storm had been disorganized.
On August 27, the storm grew into a tropical storm and was named Fran. On August 29, the storm intensified into a category 1 hurricane. The interaction with Hurricane Edouard led to weakening and the storm took a northwestward direction. When Edouard was gone, the storm grew into a category 1 hurricane again.
Fran grew in early September. By September 3, it the winds were at . The system started to develop an eye. By September 5, winds were at 120 mph (195 km/h) and its pressure was 946 mbar.
On September 6, the storm hit North Carolina with winds of . Once on land, the storm rapidly weakened. It moved through Virginia. It died on September 8.
Preparations
A Hurricane Watch was issued in the Lesser Antilles in late August. As Fran moved away, the watch was ended.