Hurricane History Map

Hurricane Frances path, 1961

North Atlantic basin, 30 September 1961 to 10 October 1961. Its recorded track is shown on the map and selected for you.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

What the record says

Frances was a hurricane in the North Atlantic basin that lasted about 10 days, from 30 September 1961 to 10 October 1961. Its peak was Category 4 (115 kt) on 7 October 1961, with a 1-minute sustained wind of 115 kt (132 mph, 213 km/h). Its lowest recorded pressure was 948 hPa.

  • Category 4peak intensity
  • 115 ktpeak wind (132 mph)
  • 948 hPalowest pressure
  • 10 dayslifetime

Source of the peak wind: NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

It has its own page because it reached category 4 or stronger.

This page gives the official record's figures. It does not describe the human cost of the storm, which is far larger than any wind speed or pressure here.

Where it came ashore

A landfall here is the first tropical position over land after time at sea, so it is within about six hours of the real event. The record shows up to 8.

Countries it came within 50 km of

Strongest effect first.

US counties it came within 50 km of

How to read this track

The line joins the storm's six-hourly positions with straight lines, coloured by its intensity at each point, so it shows how the storm strengthened and weakened. The real path curved between the positions. A dashed grey stretch means the storm had become post-tropical. Records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are estimates.

Source: NOAA NCEI IBTrACS, public domain. See data sources and caveats.

Other notable storms of the 1961 North Atlantic season

Other notable storms near France

  • Bejisa (2014)27 December 2013 to 7 January 2014, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 950 hPa
  • Danny (2015)17 August 2015 to 24 August 2015, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 960 hPa
  • Florine (1981)3 January 1981 to 11 January 1981, peak Category 3 (105 kt)
  • Garance (2025)23 February 2025 to 5 March 2025, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 947 hPa, provisional

The 1961 North Atlantic season · All notable storms

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