1979 — Sep 12-13, Hurricane Frederic, MS, AL, LA, FL, TN, PA, esp. AL –17-19
–17-19 Blanchard tally based on State breakouts below.[1]
— >17 Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Cleanup in wake of Frederic.” 9-16-1979, 4A.[2]
— 16 UPI. “Storm Stricken Offer Up Thanks.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 9-17-1979, 1.[3]
— ~12 AP. “Victims Clear Storm’s Debris.” Laurel Leader-Call, MS. 9-17-1979, p. 1.
— 11 NHC. Preliminary Report, Hurricane Frederic, Aug. 29–Sept. 14, 1979. 10-3-79, p3.[4]
— 8-10 AP. “South picks up…pieces in wake of Frederic’s…” Iola Register, KS. 9-15-79, 1.[5]
— >9 UPI, Mobile. “Frederic’s fury unleashes…” Galveston Daily News. 9-14-1979, 2A.
— 8 AP, Mobile. “Carter tours battered coast…” Odessa American, TX, 9-14-1979, p. 1.[6]
— 5 Hebert, P. J. “Atlantic Hurricane Season of 1979.” MWR, V.108, July 1980, p. 973, 976.
— 5 Direct. NWS. Natural Disaster Survey Report…Frederic, Aug 29-Sept 13, 1979.
Alabama: (12-13)
–12-13 Blanchard tally based on locality and/or cause of death breakouts below.
— 12 Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA (AP). “Cleanup in wake of Frederic.” 9-16-1979, 4A.
— >8 AP, Mobile. “Frederic Levels Much of Gulf Coast.” Titusville Herald, PA. 9-14-79, 1.
— 2 Murray. “Remembering…Frederic.” Alabama WX Weather Blog, 9-12-2010.[7]
— 1 National Climatic Center. Storm Data, Vol. 21, No. 9, September 1979, p. 2.[8]
AL Locality and or Cause Breakouts:
–2 Bayou La Batre, Sep 13. Kerosene explosion in attempt to start a fire for light or cooking.[9]
–1 Grand Bay, Sep 12. Mobile home blows over killing boy, 4.[10]
–1 Gulf, Sep 11. Drowned; oilfield worker falls off Trans World Drilling Co. rig tender under tow.[11]
–4 Pritchard, Sep 14. Home fire blamed on “improper cooking”; mother, three children.[12]
–? Locality not noted, other than “just off Louisiana coast.” Presumed drowning.[13]
–1 Locality not noted. Heart attack, woman, 76.[14]
–3 Localities not noted. Traffic accidents (described as auto crashes).[15]
Florida: ( 1)
–1 Intracoastal waterway near Pensacola. Drowning; female 24.[16]
Louisiana: ( 0-1)
–1? Sep 11. Drowning; believed trapped when oil rig flips in Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.[17]
Pennsylvania ( 1)
— 1 Erie County College, Sep 15. Drowning; raft sucking into underground drainage ditch.[18]
Tennessee ( 3)
— 3 Sep 13-14. “…heavy rains were blamed on traffic accidents that killed three persons…”[19]
Causes of Death (17-19)
Drowning: (3-5)
–1 AL Gulf, Sep 11. Oilfield worker falls from Trans World Drilling Co. rig tender under tow.
–? AL. Locality not noted, other than “just off Louisiana coast.” Presumed drowning.[20]
–1 FL. Intracoastal waterway near Pensacola. Drowning; female 24.
–? LA. Sep 11. Drowning; believed trapped when oil rig flips in Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.
–1 PA. Erie County College, Sep 15. Drowning; raft sucking into underground drainage ditch.
Fires: ( 6)
–2 AL. Bayou La Batre, Sep 13. Kerosene explosion; attempt to start a fire for light or cooking.
–4 AL. Pritchard, Sep 14. Home fire blamed on “improper cooking”; mother, three children.
Heart Attack: ( 1)
–1 AL. Locality and date not noted (in Sep 14 paper). Heart attack, woman, 76.
High Wind: ( 1)
–1 AL. Grand Bay, Sep 12. Mobile home blows over killing boy, 4.
Traffic Accidents: ( 6)
–3 AL. Localities not noted. Traffic accidents (described as auto crashes)
–3 Sep 13-14. “…heavy rains were blamed on traffic accidents that killed three persons…”
Narrative Information
NWS: “….By 11am on September 12th, Frederic was located 175 miles south of Pensacola moving north-northwest at 12 to 15 mph. The diameter of the hurricane eye was reported to be about 10 miles. Reports from hurricane hunter reconnaissance aircraft and coastal weather radar networks indicated the eye of Frederic would cross the coast between Gulfport, MS and Pensacola, FL. Evacuation of the Gulf Coast was nearing completion at that time. By 5pm on September 12th, the center of Hurricane Frederic was approximately 80 miles south of Gulf Shores, AL moving north at 15 mph.
“Conditions began to rapidly deteriorate during the afternoon of September 12th as Frederic approached the Alabama Gulf Coast. Hurricane Frederic approached the coast with a forward speed of 15 mph. The eye of the Frederic measured 50 miles in diameter east to west and 40 miles north to south. In the opinion of some weather forecasters at the time, Frederic had the largest storm center they had ever recorded.
“Shortly before 10pm on September 12th, the northern eyewall of Frederic move ashore on Dauphin Island, AL. As the eye moved inland, it decreased in size to about 15 miles in diameter. The storm center crossed over the western end of Dauphin Island at 10pm. An automated wind gust recorder (located at the top of the Dauphin Island Bridge), recorded a peak wind gust of 145 mph around 9:40 pm. At landfall, Frederic was as strong Category 3 on the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale, raking the Mobile Bay area with winds gusting from 100 to 145 mph for several hours on the evening of September 12th through the early morning of September 13th. Hurricane wind gusts were experienced as far inland as Choctaw County, AL during the early morning hours of September 13th.
“The damage cost from Frederic was $2.3 billion. Five deaths were directly attributable to the storm. A storm surge of 12 to 15 feet on the Gulf beaches and 8 to 10 feet in northern Mobile Bay destroyed numerous coastal buildings. Storm surge damage was documented for 80 miles along the coast.
“The winds from Hurricane Frederic damaged or destroyed many homes and businesses. Many homes and businesses well inland suffered severe damage when large pine trees fell onto them or the roof structures failed. Along with peak wind gusts of 145 mph at the Dauphin Island Bridge, wind gusts of 97 mph from the east were recorded at Mobile Regional Airport at 11:07 pm. At midnight, Mobile County Civil Defense also reported measured wind gusts at 97 mph, along with massive damage in Mobile and surrounding areas. At midnight, wind gusts from the north at 98 mph were reported by Biloxi Civil Defense with north winds gusting to 127 mph at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, MS.
“At 2am on Thursday, September 13th, the National Weather Service issued an intermediate advisory reporting the center of Hurricane Frederic had passed just west of Mobile and the hurricane force winds began to slowly subside in the Mobile area as Frederic continued to move north along the Alabama/Mississippi border. Extensive reports of damage in the Mobile metropolitan area were beginning to come in to the NWS. After moving inland from the coast, the hurricane moved north and then northeast, increasing its forward speed to 23 mph. It did not lose hurricane intensity until it was in the vicinity of Meridian, MS at about 7am.
“By 8am on September 13th, Frederic was downgraded to a tropical storm. Frederic maintained that intensity as it moved north through Mississippi, crossing back into Alabama west of Tuscaloosa. Late that afternoon, Frederic was further downgraded to a tropical depression as it moved north through Alabama.
“Numerous large swaths of significant wind damage were documented in the days immediately following the landfall of Frederic. Fallen trees were a significant impact to residents, bringing down thousands of power lines and blocking roads for several days. Some areas of Mobile County experienced electric power outages for 5 weeks.
“Frederic moved north along the Alabama/Mississippi border dropping 3 to 11 inches of rain along its path. The highest rainfall total of 11 inches was reported in Pascagoula, MS….
“Over 500,000 people evacuated from the Central Gulf Coast Region ahead of Hurricane Frederic – the largest evacuation along the Gulf Coast up to that time. Frederic was the first hurricane to directly strike Mobile since 1932. Before Frederic, the last hurricane with Category 3 winds to directly strike the Alabama Gulf Coast occurred in 1916. There was also the 1926 ‘Great Miami’ Hurricane that weakened to a Category 2 storm as it passed over Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island, AL.” (NWS Weather Forecast Office Mobile/Pensacola. Hurricane Frederic September 12, 1979. 9-12-2014 modification.)
Newspapers:
Sep 13: “Mobile, Ala. (AP) – Hurricane Frederic crashed into this 300-year-old port with 130 mph winds early today, leaving two dead, ripping apart homes, flattening businesses and felling trees and power lines along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Louisiana.
“Looting broke out in downtown Mobile and the neighboring town of Prichard in the wake of this area’s worst hurricane in a decade. Armed National Guardsmen were sent in and Prichard police were told to “shoot to kill.”
“Frederic weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved inland today across though southeast Mississippi and into Alabama, with top winds of 60 mph….
“There were two confirmed deaths as the born-again storm hit Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle, churning up 15-foot tides. Forecasters said the greatest threat today was from floods and tornados.
“Alabama Gov. Fob James toured the area by helicopter and said he would ask the White House to declare Mobile and Baldwin counties a disaster area damage was estimated at up to $100 million in Florida and 150 million in Mississippi
“This festival city of 300,000 and neighboring Pascagoula, Miss., a smaller city to the west, bore the brunt of the hurricane which first hit land at Dauphin island, a resort island 5 miles long that was reported “sliced in half. ” “I would say there is not a dwelling, business or any other building in Jackson County that does not have damage ranging from minor to total destruction, ” said Ken Phillips, director of disaster relief in Pascagoula.
“Mayor A.J. Cooper of Prichard, a Mobile suburb of 50,000, said widespread looting was reported in his community today The mayor told his policeman to fire two warning shots at looters, then “shoot to kill.” Mobile Mayor Gary Greenbought said some looting was reported in the downtown area and Alabama Gov Fob James sent armed National Guardsmen and state troopers into the area. Prichard fireman Sidney Anderson said the looting began at daybreak, “as soon as they could see to steal”.” (AP. “Alabama city bears brunt of hurricane.” Odessa American, TX, 9-13-1979, p. 1.)
Sep 15: “….In the port city of Mobile, where authorities had imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew, at least 64 people were arrested for looting overnight as National Guardsmen reinforced local police who had orders to “shoot to kill” if necessary. Another 36 were arrested for violating the curfew, said Mobile police Sgt. R.D. Roy. “Most of these were running the streets,” he said. More than 50 juveniles and 14 adults were arrested on looting charges, mostly for stealing television sets, clothes, beer and soft drinks. Dozens of other looters eluded police on the blackened streets, Roy said….
“Meanwhile, Frederic — now labeled a tropical depression — whirled into the Great Lakes region, still delivering torrential rains and some tornadoes over a widespread region. The deluge, more than six inches in parts of the area, caused scattered flooding in Ohio and western New York. Columbus, Ohio, schools were closed Friday when buses could not get through flooded streets, and several families in low-lying areas of the city had to be evacuated by boat when water surrounded their homes. In the Buffalo, N.Y., suburb of Amherst, some persons were evacuated and taken to a fire hall when a creek began rising. The National Weather Service in Buffalo said 4.99 inches of rain fell in a 14-hour period Friday, breaking the record set for a 24-hour period in 1893. A rainstorm spawned by the remnants of Frederic caused a covered bridge spanning the Connecticut River between New Hampshire and Vermont to collapse. In Akron, Ohio, where the weather service reported 6.13 inches of rain, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, closed parts of its two plants due to flooding.
“Power remained a major problem in the Mobile area. Power outages caused by falling lines and flattened transmission towers caused food spoilage, made gasoline pumps inoperable and aggravated police efforts to control looting.” (Associated Press, Mobile. “South picks up the pieces in wake of Frederic’s fury.” Iola Register, KS. 9-15-1979, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press, Miami. “170,000 evacuated in Gulf area.” Evening Capital, Annapolis, MD, 9-12-1979, p. 4. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=5573877&sterm
Associated Press. “Alabama city bears brunt of hurricane.” Odessa American, TX, 9-13-1979, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=185981020&sterm=frederic+death
Associated Press, Mobile. “Carter tours battered coast as Frederic cleanup begins.” Odessa American, TX, 9-14-1979, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=185981046&sterm
Associated Press. “Frederic Levels Much of Gulf Coast.” Titusville Herald, PA, 9-14-1979, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=104251518&sterm=frederic+death
Associated Press, Mobile. “Frederic takes blame for more death.” Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA. 9-16-1979, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=225116960&sterm
Associated Press, Mobile. “South picks up the pieces in wake of Frederic’s fury.” Iola Register, KS. 9-15-1979, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=161846600&sterm
Associated Press. “Victims Clear Storm’s Debris.” Laurel Leader-Call, MS. 9-17-1979, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=227555429&sterm=frederic+death
Athens News Courier, AL. “Frederic leaves 50,000 without power.” 9-14-1979, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=227961462&sterm=frederic+death
Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Cleanup in wake of Frederic.” 9-16-1979, 4A. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=150694951&sterm=frederic+death
Hebert, Paul J. (National Hurricane Center). “Atlantic Hurricane Season of 1979.” Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 108, July 1980, pp. 973-990. Accessed 11-24-2014 at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/lib1/nhclib/mwreviews/1979.pdf
Murray, Bill. “Remembering Hurricane Frederic.” Alabama WX Weather Blog, 9-12-2010. Accessed 11-24-2014 at: http://www.alabamawx.com/?p=33842
National Climatic Center. Storm Data, Vol. 21, No. 9, Sep 1979. Asheville, NC: NCD, National Weather Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce. Accessed 11-26-2014 at: http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-2A8DA52E-B092-44B3-BB45-F86161BCC37A.pdf
National Hurricane Center (PJH). Preliminary Report, Hurricane Frederic, Aug. 29 – Sept. 14, 1979. 10-3-1979, four pages. Accessed 11-24-2014 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1979-prelim/frederic/prelim01.gif
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1979-prelim/frederic/prelim02.gif
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1979-prelim/frederic/prelim03.gif
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/storm_wallets/atlantic/atl1979-prelim/frederic/prelim04.gif
National Weather Service, NOAA. Natural Disaster Survey Report. Hurricane Frederic, Aug 29 – Sept 13, 1979. Silver Spring MD: NWS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce, circa 1979-1980. Accessed 11-24-2014: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CZIC-qc945-h8-1979/html/CZIC-qc945-h8-1979.htm
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Mobile/Pensacola. Hurricane Frederic September 12, 1979. 9-12-2014 modification. Accessed 11-24-2014 at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mob/?n=frederic
Titusville Herald, PA. “Local Teen-ager Escapes Serious Injuries in Raft Accident at Edinboro.” 9-17-1979, p. 2. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=102438912&sterm
United Press International, Mobile. “Frederic’s fury unleashes destruction far inland.” Galveston Daily News, TX. 9-14-1979, 2A. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com
United Press International, Mobile. “Hurricane creates a wake of destruction.” New Castle News, PA, 9-13-1979, p. 2: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=227903276&sterm
United Press International, Mobile. “Storm Stricken Offer Up Thanks.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 9-17-1979, pp. 1, 3. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=20112007&sterm
[1] The range has to do with the range of 12-13 for Alabama and the one presumed drowning listed for Louisiana.
[2] Eight in Alabama and at least five elsewhere.
[3] “Nine deaths were attributed directly to the storm, but seven others died from fires due to the lack of electricity as victims tried to cook on kerosene stoves and light their homes with candles.”
[4] “Thus far, 11 storm related deaths have been attributed to Frederic in the U.S., but only 2 were caused directly. Although a final count of storm related deaths is unavailable it is believed to be less than 15.”
[5] “…at least eight [deaths] with two others missing and presumed dead.”
[6] “Frederick claimed only half the human toll of last week’s Atlantic Coast killer, Hurricane David, which claimed 16 lives in…[US]….At least six persons were killed. Two others in Florida were missing and believed dead.”
[7] Two direct deaths in Alabama.
[8] “There was only one known death in Alabama directly resulting from the hurricane. A four year old boy was killed in Brand Bay when a mobile home turned over on him as he was trying to escape high winds with his family.”
[9] “The number of storm-related deaths rose to eight late Thursday when an explosion killed two people in the picturesque fishing village of Bayou La Batre, southwest of Mobile. Police said they apparently were trying to use kerosene to light a fire for light or cooking purposes in a storm-wrecked house.”
[10] UPI, Mobile. “Hurricane creates a wake of destruction.” New Castle News, PA, 9-13-1979, p. 2. The AP writes the victim was a girl in Mobile. (AP. “Frederic Levels Much of Gulf Coast.” Titusville Herald, PA, 9-14-1979, p. 1.)
[11] “…one man was killed and another was reported missing as 2,500 offshore oilfield workers were leaving rigs in the path of the storm….[one] man died when he fell from a Trans World Drilling Co. rig tender under tow in heavy seas in the Gulf off the Louisiana Coast. He was pulled from the water, but could not be revived. His name was not released.” (AP, Miami. “170,000 evacuated in Gulf area.” Evening Capital, Annapolis, MD, 9-12-79, p. 4.)
[12] “The death toll from Frederic continued to climb as police blamed the fire deaths of a mother and her three children Friday night on conditions caused by the storm. That brought the storm’s toll to 12 in Alabama.” (Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA (AP). “Cleanup in wake of Frederic.” 9-16-1979, 4A.) Also: AP, Mobile. “Frederic takes blame for more death.” Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA. 9-16-1979, p. 1 (which identifies victims as Annie Williams, 24, and her children Eric, 8, Aretta, 2, and Michelle, six months).
[13] Article also mentions the oil rig worker who drowned when he fell from a rig tender being towed away from storm, thus this is not a reference to that death. It could, however, be the same death we have noted as a presumed drowning in the Gulf when an oil rig flipped over.
[14] Associated Press, Mobile. “Frederic Levels Much of Gulf Coast.” Titusville Herald, PA. 9-14-1979, p. 1.
[15] Associated Press, Mobile. “Frederic Levels Much of Gulf Coast.” Titusville Herald, PA. 9-14-1979, p. 1.
[16] “Dr. John Langley, 45, of Mobile, Ala., was rescued early Thursday [Sep 13] in the Intercoastal waterway near Pensacola. He told volunteer firemen who swam to his aid that he had clung to his 40-foot capsized boat for six hours. He said a companion, a 24-year-old nurse from Mobile who was not identified, had been swept away by the currents and was presumed drowned.” (Athens News Courier, AL. “Frederic leaves 50,000 without power.” 9-14-1979, p. 2.) Confirmed as a fatality in Hebert and in NCC, NWS Storm Data which writes “A woman was drowned when a sailboat, seeking a safe harbor, was swamped on the Intracoastal Waterway north of Perdido Key.” (p. 4).
[17] Being towed from storm’s path. Noted divers were searching for his body. (AP, Miami. “170,000 evacuated in Gulf area.” Evening Capital, Annapolis, MD, 9-12-79, p.4.) Have not located confirmation, however.
[18] “…three Edinboro coeds [were] involved in Friday’s [Sep 14] rafting accident on the campus of the Erie County [PA] college…Deborah Day, 17, of suburban Lawrence Park, has died as a result of the accident. Miss Day’s death occurred Saturday evening at Erie’s St. Vincent Hospital where she had been rushed for treatment. She was placed on a respirator, but never regained consciousness….Campus police said the students were riding in an inflatable raft in shallow flood waters left by the remnants of Hurricane Frederic.” (Titusville Herald, PA. “Local Teen-ager Escapes Serious Injuries in Raft Accident at Edinboro.” 9-17-1979, p. 2.)
[19] Writing about Frederic as it “moved northward Thursday and Friday, heavy rains were blamed on traffic accidents that killed three persons in Tennessee.” UPI. “Storm Stricken Offer Up Thanks.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 9-17-1979, p. 3.
[20] Article also mentions the oil rig worker who drowned when he fell from a rig tender being towed away from storm, thus this is not a reference to that death. It could, however, be the same death we have noted as a possible drowning in the Louisiana Mississippi River Gulf Outlet when an oil rig flipped over.