The 1996 Atlantic hurricane season consisted of the events that occurred in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation over the Atlantic Ocean north of the equator. The official bounds of each Atlantic hurricane season are dates that conventionally delineate the period each year during which tropical cyclones tend to form in the basin according to the National Hurricane Center, beginning on June 1 and ending on November 30. However, tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of the year. Activity during the season was above average; thirteen named storms developed, with nine becoming hurricanes and six further strengthening into major hurricanes. The first system, Tropical Storm Arthur, formed on June 17; the last, Hurricane Marco, dissipated on November 26.
The season's most destructive storms were Hurricane Cesar, Hurricane Fran, and Hurricane Hortense. Hurricane Cesar (later known as Hurricane Douglas in the Eastern Pacific basin) was the deadliest storm of the season; it killed at least 51 people and caused severe damage in northern Colombia and southern Central America. Hurricane Fran caused $3.2 billion (1996 USD) worth of damage in the United States, mostly in North Carolina, and killed 26 people. Hurricane Hortense dropped torrential rainfall on southwestern Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic, killing 21 people and leaving behind $127 million (1996 USD) in damage.
This timeline documents tropical cyclone formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, and dissipations during the season. It includes information that was not released throughout the season, meaning that data from post-storm reviews by the National Hurricane Center, such as a storm that was not initially warned upon, has been included.
The time stamp for each event is first stated using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the 24-hour clock where 00:00 = midnight UTC. The NHC uses both UTC and the time zone where the center of the tropical cyclone is currently located. The time zones utilized (east to west) prior to 2020 were: Atlantic, Eastern, and Central. In this timeline, the respective area time is included in parentheses. Additionally, figures for maximum sustained winds and position estimates are rounded to the nearest 5 units (miles, or kilometers), following National Hurricane Center practice. Direct wind observations are rounded to the nearest whole number. Atmospheric pressures are listed to the nearest millibar and nearest hundredth of an inch of mercury. __TOC__
Timeline of storms
June June 1 The 1996 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins.
June 17
18:00 UTC (2:00 pm EDT) at The first tropical depression of the season forms near eastern Grand Bahama.
June 19 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm EDT, June 18) at The tropical depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Arthur about 245 miles (400 km) south-southwest of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at Tropical Storm Arthur reaches peak winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) about 130 miles (215 km) southwest of Cape Lookout, North Carolina.The figures for maximum sustained winds and position estimates are rounded to the nearest 5 units (knots, miles, or kilometers), following the convention used in the National Hurricane Center's operational products for each storm. All other units are rounded to the nearest digit.
June 20 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm EDT, June 19) at Tropical Storm Arthur makes landfall near Cape Lookout, North Carolina with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and a barometric pressure of . 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at Tropical Storm Arthur weakens into a tropical depression about 115 miles (185 km) northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
June 21 06:00 UTC (2:00 am EDT) at Tropical Depression Arthur reaches a minimum barometric pressure of about 355 miles (575 km) north-northwest of Bermuda. 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at Tropical Depression Arthur transitions into an extratropical gale about 405 miles (650 km) north-northeast of Bermuda.
July July 5 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm AST, July 4) at The second tropical depression of the season forms about 790 miles (1,270 km) southwest of Cape Verde. 12:00 UTC (8:00 am AST) at The tropical depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Bertha about 1,070 miles (1,725 km) west-southwest of Cape Verde.
July 7
18:00 UTC (2:00 pm AST) at Tropical Storm Bertha strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane about 220 miles (350 km) east of Antigua.
July 9 06:00 UTC (2:00 am EDT) at Hurricane Bertha rapidly strengthens to Category 3 intensity, skipping Category 2 status, about 140 miles (220 km/h) north of Puerto Rico, making it the first major hurricane of the season. It simultaneously reaches peak winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of . 18:00 UTC (2:00 pm EDT) at Hurricane Bertha weakens to Category 2 intensity about 70 miles (110 km) northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
July 10 06:00 UTC (2:00 am EDT) at Hurricane Bertha weakens to Category 1 intensity about 40 miles (65 km) northeast of San Salvador Island.
July 12 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at Hurricane Bertha regains Category 2 intensity about 100 miles (155 km) east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina. 20:00 UTC (4:00 pm EDT) at Hurricane Bertha makes landfall between Wrightsville and Topsail Beaches in North Carolina with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) and a barometric pressure of .
July 13 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm EDT, July 12) at Hurricane Bertha weakens back to Category 1 intensity inland over eastern North Carolina. 06:00 UTC (2:00 am EDT) at Hurricane Bertha weakens into a tropical storm about 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Newport News, Virginia.
July 14 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at Tropical Storm Bertha becomes extratropical over the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
July 24
18:00 UTC (2:00 pm EDT) at The third tropical depression of the season forms just north of Isla Margarita.
July 25 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at The tropical depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Cesar near Curaçao.
July 27 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at Tropical Storm Cesar strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane over the southwestern Caribbean Sea.
July 28 04:00 UTC (12:00 am EDT) at Hurricane Cesar makes landfall just north of Bluefields, Nicaragua. It simultaneously reaches peak winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of . 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at Hurricane Cesar weakens into a tropical storm inland over Nicaragua.
July 29 00:00 UTC (7:00 pm CDT, July 28) at Tropical Storm Cesar completes its trek across Nicaragua and becomes Tropical Storm Douglas in the Eastern Pacific basin.
August August 19
06:00 UTC (2:00 am EDT) at The fourth tropical depression of the season forms over the western Caribbean Sea. Just after 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) near The aforementioned tropical depression strengthens into Tropical Storm Dolly over the western Caribbean Sea. 18:00 UTC (2:00 pm AST) at Another tropical depression, the fifth of the season, forms about 345 miles (555 km) southeast of Cape Verde.
August 20 17:30 UTC (12:30 CDT) at Tropical Storm Dolly strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane as it makes its first landfall near Punta Herrero, Quintana Roo with winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a barometric pressure of .
August 21 00:00 UTC (7:00 pm CDT, August 20) at Hurricane Dolly weakens into a tropical storm inland about 50 miles (85 km) north-northwest of Chetumal. 12:00 UTC (7:00 am CDT) at Tropical Storm Dolly weakens into a tropical depression inland over the Yucatan Peninsula.
August 22 00:00 UTC (7:00 pm CDT, August 21) at Tropical Depression Dolly restrengthens into a tropical storm over the Bay of Campeche. 06:00 UTC (2:00 am AST) at The fifth tropical depression of the season strengthens into Tropical Storm Edouard about 545 miles (880 km) west-southwest of Cape Verde.
August 23 12:00 UTC (7:00 am CDT) at Tropical Storm Dolly restrengthens into a Category 1 hurricane as it makes its second landfall midway between Tampico, Tamaulipas, and Tuxpan, Veracruz. It simultaneously reaches peak winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of . 12:00 UTC (8:00 am AST) at Tropical Storm Edouard strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane about 980 miles (1,575 km) west of Cape Verde. 12:00 UTC (8:00 am AST) at The sixth tropical depression of the season forms about 200 miles (325 km) southeast of Cape Verde. 18:00 UTC (1:00 pm CDT) at Hurricane Dolly weakens into a tropical storm inland over central Mexico.
August 24 00:00 UTC (7:00 pm CDT, August 23) at Tropical Storm Dolly weakens into a tropical depression inland over central Mexico.
12:00 UTC (8:00 am AST) at Hurricane Edouard strengthens to Category 2 intensity about 1,330 miles (2,140 km) west of Cape Verde. 18:00 UTC (12:00 pm MDT) at Tropical Depression Dolly completes its trek across Mexico and enters the Eastern Pacific basin; it dissipates 12 hours later. 18:00 UTC (2:00 pm AST) at Hurricane Edouard strengthens to Category 3 intensity about 1,405 miles (2,260 km) west of Cape Verde, making it the second major hurricane of the season.
August 25 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm AST, August 24) at Hurricane Edouard strengthens to Category 4 intensity about 1,475 miles (2,370 km) west of Cape Verde. 06:00 UTC (2:00 am AST) at Hurricane Edouard reaches peak winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of about 1,550 miles (2,490 km) west of Cape Verde, making it the strongest storm of the season.
August 26 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm AST, August 25) at The seventh tropical depression of the season forms about 185 miles (295 km) south-southeast of Cape Verde.
August 27 12:00 UTC (8:00 am AST) at The sixth tropical depression of the season strengthens into Tropical Storm Fran about 1,035 miles (1,665 km) east of the Lesser Antilles.
August 28 06:00 UTC (2:00 am AST) at The seventh tropical depression of the season strengthens into Tropical Storm Gustav about 685 miles (1,105 km) west-southwest of Cape Verde. 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at Hurricane Edouard weakens to Category 3 intensity about 725 miles (1,165 km) south of Bermuda. 12:00 UTC (8:00 am AST) at Tropical Storm Gustav reaches a minimum barometric pressure of about 720 miles (1,160 km) west-southwest of Cape Verde.
August 29 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm AST, August 28) at Tropical Storm Fran strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane about 460 miles (740 km) east of the Leeward Islands. 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm AST, August 28) at Tropical Storm Gustav reaches peak winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) about 795 miles (1,280 km) west-southwest of Cape Verde. 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at Hurricane Edouard regains Category 4 intensity about 610 miles (980 km) south-southwest of Bermuda.
August 30 18:00 UTC (2:00 pm AST) at Hurricane Fran weakens into a tropical storm about 235 miles (380 km) north-northeast of the Leeward Islands.
August 31 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm EDT, August 30) at Hurricane Edouard weakens back to Category 3 intensity about 390 miles (630 km) west-southwest of Bermuda. 12:00 UTC (8:00 am AST) at Tropical Storm Fran restrengthens into a Category 1 hurricane about 275 miles (445 km) north-northeast of the Leeward Islands.
September September 1 12:00 UTC (8:00 am EDT) at Hurricane Edouard weakens to Category 2 intensity about 310 miles (500 km) east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. 18:00 UTC (2:00 pm AST) at Tropical Storm Gustav weakens into a tropical depression about 1,535 miles (2,475 km) west of Cape Verde; it dissipates 12 hours later.
September 2 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm EDT, September 1) at Hurricane Edouard weakens to Category 1 intensity about 180 miles (285 km) south of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
September 3 00:00 UTC (8:00 pm EDT, September 2) at Hurricane Edouard weakens into a tropical storm about 180 miles (285 km) east-northeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. 06:00 UTC (2:00 am EDT) at Tropical Storm Edouard becomes extratropical about 220 miles (350 km) east-northeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.