Hurricane David

Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 1979

Hurricane David
David at peak intensity near landfall in Hispaniola on August 31, 1979
Meteorological history
FormedAugust 25, 1979
ExtratropicalSeptember 6, 1979
DissipatedSeptember 8, 1979
Category 5 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds175 mph (280 km/h)
Lowest pressure924 mbar (hPa); 27.29 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities2,078
Damage$1.54 billion (1979 USD)
Areas affectedLesser Antilles, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, The Bahamas, East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Canada
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata

Part of the 1979 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane David was a devastating Atlantic hurricane which caused massive loss of life in the Dominican Republic in August 1979, and was the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the country in recorded history. A long-lived Cape Verde hurricane, David was the fourth named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 1979 Atlantic hurricane season.

David formed on August 25, in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean near Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa. Two days later, the storm reached hurricane strength, then underwent rapid intensification, strengthening into a Category 5 hurricane and reaching peak sustained winds of 175 mph (282 km/h) on August 28. By the time the system dissipated on September 8, it had traversed the Leeward Islands, Greater Antilles, The Bahamas, the East Coast of the United States, and Atlantic Canada.

David was the first hurricane to affect the Lesser Antilles since Hurricane Inez in 1966. With winds of 175 mph (282 km/h), David was one of only 2 storms of Category 5 intensity to make landfall on the Dominican Republic in the 20th century, the other also being Inez, and the deadliest since the 1930 San Zenón hurricane, killing over 2,000 people in its path. In addition, David was the deadliest tropical cyclone to hit the island of Dominica since the 1834 Padre Ruíz hurricane, which killed over 200 people.[1]

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
circle Tropical cyclone
square Subtropical cyclone
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression