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Storms That Hit

NHC AL111979 · Atlantic basin

Hurricane Frederic (1979)

August 29, 1979 – September 15, 1979

Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated

Hurricane Frederic peaked at Category 4 with 132 mph sustained winds and passed within 75 miles of 1,147 US cities, 112 of them while still at hurricane strength.

Frederic in the record

HURDAT2 tracks Frederic from August 29, 1979 to September 15, 1979; its peak was 132 mph (Category 4). Its centre passed within 75 miles of 1,147 US cities, in 12 states and territories, most in Tennessee (190) and Alabama (173). The strongest pass was 124 mph (Category 3) 29 miles from Gulf Shores, AL; the centre came closest to Phil Campbell, AL, less than a mile away.

Peak strength
Category 4

132 mph

Cities within 75 mi
1,147
At hurricane strength
112

when closest

States
12
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Cities Frederic passed near, strongest first

Alabama (173)

and 113 more

Florida (7)

Mississippi (127)

and 67 more

Puerto Rico (86)

and 26 more

Tennessee (190)

and 130 more

Georgia (2)

Kentucky (148)

and 88 more

Ohio (148)

and 88 more

West Virginia (115)

and 55 more

Virginia (13)

Pennsylvania (130)

and 70 more

Maryland (8)

Other storms of the 1979 season

  • BobCategory 1 · 168 cities
  • ClaudetteTropical storm · 92 cities
  • DavidCategory 5 · 2,030 cities
  • ElenaTropical storm · 28 cities

All hurricanes and tropical storms →

About this record

The track is the National Hurricane Center's best-track record, revised after the season with every observation available. Strength at a city is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, not the wind that city measured.