HURRTRAK4.2 NC/VA Plot of Fran
Damage Photos from Raleigh-Durham Area

Uprooted tree... / Tree flattens car...

Hurricane Fran moved onshore at Cape Fear, NC Thursday evening, 9/5/96. The cyclone began to decrease in intensity and size. However, its bands of heavy rain, embedded thunderstorms, and embedded tornadoes continued to move northwest through Virginia.

Most of that weather remained to the west of this station in southeastern Portsmouth, VA; however, we did receive 0.29" of rain and endured very gusty winds for a good 15 hours as Fran moved to south-central VA. PWRS remained in the northeast and eastern sections of the storm. A wind gust of 60 mph at 4:19 AM EDT was recorded here.

Lots of tree limbs down across the locale; at this station, the greatest side effect was the great amount of small twig and leaf debris left after the storm.

Rainfall: Thursday 0.04"... Friday 0.25"... Storm total 0.29"

Thunderstorm: An embedded thunderstorm was noted Friday morning at 4 AM EDT.

Barometric pressure: Minimum 29.671"

Maximum wind gust: SSE 60 mph at 4:19 AM EDT

The storm's center moved northwest across the VA/NC border near Danville.

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                                                 WIND
  TIME   TEMP  HIGH   LOW   BAR   HUM  DEW   STDY  GUST DIR  RAIN
                 (DURING            %  PT.  (miles per hour)(INCHES)
                INTERVAL)                                     
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09-05-96  

 4:00pm  79.3  80.2  78.5  29.951  91  75.8     6    22   E  0.00
 5:00pm  78.1  78.5  77.5  29.950  95  75.9     6    21   E  0.00
 6:00pm  77.2  77.5  77.0  29.920  96  75.8     6    23   E  0.00
 7:00pm  77.1  77.3  72.1  29.921  98  76.2     7    22   E  TRACE RW-
 8:00pm  76.4  77.2  75.9  29.914 100  76.4     7    26   E  0.04
 9:00pm  76.8  77.3  76.2  29.912 100  76.8    10    26   E  0.00
10:00pm  77.3  77.5  77.1  29.874  99  77.2    11    37   E  0.00
11:00pm  77.5  77.6  77.5  29.854  99  77.2    10    31   E  0.00
12:00am  77.6  77.8  77.4  29.818  99  77.3    12    32   E  0.00

09-06-96  
 
 1:00am  77.9  78.0  77.7  29.788  98  77.4    15    46 ESE  0.00
 2:00am  78.0  78.4  77.9  29.740  97  77.2    17    46 ESE  0.00
 3:00am  78.6  78.8  78.4  29.700  97  77.7    20    54 ESE  0.00
 4:00am  78.3  78.8  78.0  29.674  97  77.4    23    58 ESE  0.00
                           ******                    ******
 5:00am  78.0  78.8  76.5  29.671 100  77.5    25    60 ESE  0.25 TRW RW
                           ******                    ******
 6:00am  76.0  76.6  75.4  29.687 100  76.0    23    53 ESE  0.00
 7:00am  75.9  76.6  75.4  29.681 100  75.9    20    40 ESE  0.00
 8:00am  77.0  77.3  76.6  29.689  93  74.8    20    43  SE  0.00
 9:00am  77.7  78.2  77.3  29.702  85  74.2    22    43  SE  0.00
10:00am  78.9  79.9  78.2  29.711  82  73.5    22    51  SE  0.00
11:00am  79.3  79.9  79.0  29.732  84  73.7    19    38  SE  0.00
12:00pm  79.9  80.4  78.9  29.736  82  74.3    20    38 SSE  0.00
 1:00pm  82.0  84.8  79.8  29.733  74  74.5    20    38 SSE  0.00
 2:00pm  86.1  87.1  84.8  29.731  66  75.2    20    40 SSE  0.00
 3:00pm  87.4  87.6  87.0  29.723  67  74.9    19    36 SSE  0.00
 4:00pm  88.0  88.9  87.2  29.746  64  75.0    18    35 SSE  0.00
 5:00pm  87.8  88.2  87.5  29.752  62  73.6    19    33 SSE  0.00
 6:00pm  86.5  87.5  85.5  29.763  67  73.1    17    33 SSE  0.00
 7:00pm  83.8  85.5  82.0  29.771  73  73.0    17    36 SSE  0.00
 8:00pm  80.9  82.0  79.9  29.792  79  72.6    15    27 SSE  0.00
 9:00pm  79.3  79.9  78.8  29.812  82  72.8    15    26 SSE  0.00
10:00pm  78.3  78.8  78.0  29.829  85  72.9    13    22 SSE  0.00
11:00pm  77.9  78.1  77.4  29.842  88  73.6    13    22 SSE  0.00
12:00am  76.8  77.4  76.1  29.859  93  73.8    12    21 SSE  0.00
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                                                       TOTAL 0.29"
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                        AROUND THE TWO-STATE REGION:

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                                  Virginia             
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STATION                 RAINFALL  SUSTAINED GUST     FLOODING  PEAK SEAS
                        (inches) WIND (Mph/Knots)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norfolk International   0.38                         None
Portsmouth - PWRS       0.29               60 mph
Suffolk (Lake Kilby)    1.78
Williamsburg            1.87
Wakefield NWS           3.76
Hampton                                    71 mph
Naval Eastern Oceanographic Center         63 mph
Cape Henry - Virginia Beach                63 mph
Newport News                               59 mph
Hampton - Langley Air Force Base           52 mph
Oceana Naval Air Station - Virginia Beach  48 mph
False Cape buoy - 50 miles east of Virginia Beach              15 feet

Lynchburg               6.94
Charlottesville         5.68+
Chesterfield County     4.77
Danville                2.69
Richmond                1.81               53 mph    Fall Creek; Dan River 
                                                     basin; Sugar Hollow;
                                                     Sandy Creek

Tom's Branch           14.30     35-45 mph
Rockingham County                                    flash flooding
Page County                                          flash flooding
Elkton                                               entire city cut-off

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                               North Carolina         
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STATION                 RAINFALL  SUSTAINED GUST     FLOODING  PEAK SEAS
                        (inches) WIND (Mph/Knots)
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Rainfall (area wide)    8 to 12 
Frying Pan Shoals                         124 mph
Wilmington                                 86 mph
Barrier Islands (unofficial reports of)   140 mph
Beaches of SE NC                 115 mph  
Inland SE NC                     60-90 mph
Carolina Beach                                       Entire town under 8 feet
                                                     of water
Storm surge                                                    up to 12 feet                                        
Cape Hatteras           0.42
Northeast NC (northern end)      25-40 mph/74 mph  
Northeast NC (southern end)      40-60 mph
Pasquotank River                                     over its banks
Elizabeth City                                       flooding in sections
North Carolina Route 12                              overwashed

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