A look back: 25 years since major Hurricane Fran

The Carolinas coastline is no stranger to devastating impacts from tropical storms and hurricanes. Today marks 25 years since Hurricane Fran made landfall in North Carolina as a major Category 3 hurricane. Hurricanes that reach Category 3 intensity and higher, are classified as major hurricanes, which cause devastating to catastrophic wind damage and significant loss of life simply due to the strength of their winds. Hurricanes of this intensity also produce deadly storm surge, rain-induced floods, and tornadoes.

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That is exactly what Fran did upon making landfall overnight on September 5, 1996 (technically September 6) near the mouth of the Cape Fear River, North Carolina. Frain had sustained winds of 115 mph when it made landfall. Just prior to landfall, Fran had peak sustained winds of 120 mph. Upon landfall, the storm surge was 12 feet at Topsail Island.

Peak wind gusts of 137 mph were recorded in Wilmington, North Carolina where an estimated 75 percent of the homes sustained damage. There were also hurricane-force wind gusts of 80 mph in Fayetteville and Raleigh. The winds caused close to 2 million people to lose power in the state.

Hurricane Fran is one of the costliest hurricanes in the history of North Carolina, causing over 1.28 billion dollars in damages across the state and claiming the lives of more than 20 people. Other notable hurricanes include Hazel (1954), Matthew (2016), Floyd (1999), and Florence (2018).

Fran was the last major hurricane to make a direct landfall in North Carolina.

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