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All storm pages · 2004 Atlantic season

Hurricane Frances 2004

Category 4 hurricane · Atlantic · August 25 to September 8, 2004

Frances came ashore in the Bahamas as a Category 3 hurricane on September 2, 2004, with 125 mph winds. With a peak of 145 mph, it ranked tied for the third-strongest of the 16 storms of the 2004 season. It produced 20% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy. The name Frances is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Frances (2004) from the best-track record, coloured by strength20°N30°N40°N90°W80°W70°W60°W50°W40°WAtlantaBahamas, 125 mphFlorida, 105 mphPeak 145 mphFirst recordNot tropicalDepressionTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 3Category 400 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Frances (2004) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 504080120160Aug 26Aug 28Aug 30Sep 1Sep 3Sep 5Sep 7Sep 9mph
  1. First record (tropical depression) far out at sea, at 11.1°N, 35.2°W
  2. Tropical storm 1,120 miles east-northeast of Paramaribo, Suriname
  3. Hurricane 820 miles northeast of Paramaribo, Suriname
  4. Major hurricane 710 miles east-northeast of Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados
  5. Peak 150 miles north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico; lowest pressure 935 mb
  6. Landfall Bahamas
  7. Landfall Bahamas: Category 3, 115 mph, 954 mb
  8. Landfall Bahamas: Category 2, 110 mph, 956 mb
  9. Landfall Bahamas: Category 2, 105 mph, 961 mb
  10. Landfall Florida: Category 2, 105 mph, 960 mb
  11. Landfall Florida: tropical storm, 60 mph, 982 mb
  12. No longer tropical (extratropical low) 30 miles northeast of Charleston, West Virginia
  13. Last record 80 miles north-northeast of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind145 mph · tied 85th of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure935 mb · tied 84th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy45.9 · 22nd of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone14.8 days · tied 42nd of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

In the 2004 season

04080120160200Frances

Storm 6 of 16 in 2004, hurricane 4 of 9; it formed after Earl and before Gaston. See the season.

Places the center passed

The center came within 50 miles of at least 8 towns or cities of 10,000 people or more while the system was tropical. Distances are to the interpolated track line, not the storm's edge.

PlaceClosestWind thenDate
Tallahassee, Florida2 mi50 mphSeptember 6
Marietta, Georgia5 mi30 mphSeptember 8
Atlanta, Georgia6 mi30 mphSeptember 8
Columbus, Georgia7 mi30 mphSeptember 7
La Grange, Georgia9 mi30 mphSeptember 7
Fort Pierce, Florida12 mi100 mphSeptember 5
Winter Haven, Florida12 mi70 mphSeptember 5
Tampa, Florida14 mi65 mphSeptember 6

Every storm within 50 miles of Atlanta, Georgia

Similar landfalls in Bahamas

Storms whose strongest landfall record in the Bahamas came closest to Frances's 125 mph:

All 29 storms with a landfall record in Bahamas

Also peaked at 145 mph

Of 23 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time: