| Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
 Hurricane Franklin at peak intensity while approaching southeast Texas on September 5 | |
| Formed | August 27, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | September 8, 2023 |
| Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 175 mph (280 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 904 mbar (hPa); 26.7 inHg |
| Fatalities | 154 total |
| Damage | $74.3 billion (2023 USD) |
| Areas affected | Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas |
| Part of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Franklin was a powerful Category 5 hurricane that caused widespread damage across the Greater Antilles and the Central United States. Its devastating impacts toward Texas, especially in the Greater Houston area, were regarded as the worst in the state since Hurricane Harvey 6 years ago. The storm was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.
Franklin originated from a tropical wave off the coast of Africa on August 20, which formed and became a tropical storm a week later while in the Northeastern area of the Caribbean Sea. Soon it was upgraded into a hurricane early on August 29 before it made landfall in Dominican Republic hours later. It weakened to a tropical depression once offshore Hispaniola around a day after landfall but re-gained tropical storm status shortly after as it curved toward the southwest narrowly almost missing the eastern tip of Cuba and then to the north approaching western Cuba where it made landfall as a moderately strong storm early on September 2. It soon emerged into the Gulf of Mexico turning more toward the west, and gradually intensified into a hurricane again the next day. Amid extremely conductive conditions for the storm, Franklin rapidly intensified into a major hurricane roughly thirty hours later. Later on September 5, it became a Category 5 hurricane and soon attained winds of up to 175 mph (280 km/h) at its peak intensity at 18:00 UTC. Franklin began to weaken as it executed an eyewall replacement cycle hours after, and it made landfall in Texas as a high-end Category 4 hurricane the next day. The storm abated inland, degenerating into a remnant low on September 8 over Oklahoma which merged with a cold front later that day.
Franklin left calamitous and widespread impacts, inflicting a damage total of about $74.3 billion (2023 USD), making it one of the costliest tropical cyclones on record. Texas, especially the southeastern area of the state, and parts of southwestern Louisiana suffered massive amounts of landfall and high storm surge as the hurricane moved slowly toward land. Tens of thousands of people in those areas were left displaced and with no electricity for a week. Franklin also caused 154 confirmed deaths, 63 of which were from the United States alone. Over in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, numerous landslides and flooding caused by rainfall by the hurricane attributed the fatalities of 92 more people, and left those countries in a state of distress. Due to its devastating effects, the name Franklin was later retired from its rotating list by the World Meteorological Organization.
Meteorological history[]
Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Tropical storm (39–54 mph, 63–87 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)
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Extratropical cyclone / remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depressionA weak tropical wave emerged off the west coast of Africa on August 20. Moving westward gradually, the wave experienced strong vertical wind shear to the southwest and its thunderstorm activity and convection waned during the next 4 days. Afterwards, the system began gaining convection again while it entered an area of low shear, the NHC starting to track it for possible gradual development starting August 25. Located just west of the Lesser Antilles, the disturbance organized and started to rotate on its axis a bit. Shortly after it passed through the islands of Martinique and Dominica and into the Caribbean Sea, the sufficiently organized disturbance was designated as Tropical Depression Seven on August 27 at 06:00 UTC. Besides detecting a well-defined circulation, an NOAA reconnaissance aircraft found tropical storm-force winds inside the storm about five hours later, and the NHC promptly upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Franklin.
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Hurricane Franklin at its initial peak intensity on August 29 while making landfall over Hispaniola
In an area of the northeast Caribbean Sea with low wind shear and other conductive conditions, the storm intensified at a moderate to quick rate, while approaching Hispaniola. Franklin soon developed a ragged eye in the center of its central dense overcast (CDO) while improving its rainbands and producing intense outflow offshore Dominican Republic. It strengthened into a hurricane on August 29 at 00:00 UTC and initially peaked around eight hours later with 80 mph (130 km/h) winds as it made landfall in the Dominican Republic near the city of Boca Chica. Its rough terrain caused the hurricane to almost instantly weaken to a tropical storm, and then to a tropical depression around 18 hours after it made landfall. The system took on a disheveled and broad look once it exited off Hispaniola, having lost most of its energy inland. Franklin attempted to re-organize following the landfall and intensified back into a tropical storm late on August 30. Initially expected to strike Cuba from the east, Franklin took a sharp turn to the southwest and barely clipped the southeast tip of the island. It passed right in between Cuba and Jamaica while struggling to strengthen due to land action and vertical wind shear from the northwest. Early on September 1, the system then began a gradual curve to the north, aiming towards western Cuba. The still scruffy system remained a tropical storm with its environment conditions carried on, striking the Zapata Peninsula in Cuba with maximum winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) on September 2 at around 06:30 UTC.
| Most intense Atlantic hurricanes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Hurricane | Season | Pressure | ||
| hPa | inHg | ||||
| 1 | Wilma | 2005 | 882 | 26.05 | |
| 2 | Gilbert | 1988 | 888 | 26.23 | |
| 3 | "Labor Day" | 1935 | 892 | 26.34 | |
| 4 | Rita | 2005 | 895 | 26.43 | |
| 5 | Allen | 1980 | 899 | 26.55 | |
| 6 | Camille | 1969 | 900 | 26.58 | |
| 7 | Katrina | 2005 | 902 | 26.64 | |
| 8 | Franklin | 2023 | 904 | 26.7 | |
| 9 | Mitch | 1998 | 905 | 26.73 | |
| Dean | 2007 | ||||
Franklin lost some strength as it emerged into the Gulf of Mexico around eight hours after landfall. It then gradually turned toward the northwest, using the warm waters of the Gulf to gather strength. It missed the Florida Keys during the process, going in between the Dry Tortugas and the Marquesas Keys. The storm began to clear out a well-defined eye this time in its CDO, and it was upgraded to a hurricane again on September 3 at 18:00 UTC. For around 24 hours, Franklin struggled with an unusual dry patch of air roughly 300 miles west of Cape Coral, Florida. But once the storm entered a pocket of very warm waters just a hundred miles south off the coast of Louisiana, Franklin rapidly intensified into a Category 3 major hurricane on September 5 at 00:00 UTC, with its eye rounding out and cloud temperatures rapidly decreasing. Franklin became a Category 5 hurricane 12 hours later, with its eye having the stadium effect. It further strengthened to attain its powerful peak intensity at 18:00 UTC on the same day, with 1-minute wind speeds of up to 175 mph (280 km/h) and a minimum central barometric pressure of 904 mbar (26.7 inHg).
Hurricane Franklin rapidly intensifying over the Gulf of Mexico on September 5
Franklin maintained its intensity as it approached Texas, with land interaction preventing the hurricane from strengthening further. Roughly 10 hours after reaching its peak, the storm began to execute an eyewall replacement cycle, causing it to weaken and its eyewall to slowly deteriorate. Franklin was downgraded to a Category 4 major hurricane with 155 mph (250 km/h) maximum sustained winds as it made landfall directly in Galveston, Texas on September 6 at 18:00 UTC. The hurricane weakened considerably inland as it crawled toward the northwest across Texas, passing through Houston as a Category 3 hurricane. Franklin became a Category 1 hurricane on September 7 at 06:00 UTC, and then weakened to a tropical storm six hours later. The storm significantly shrunk in size due to the terrain taking a burden on it, as it was downgraded to a tropical depression the next day and curving toward the northeast near the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Franklin soon degenerated into a remnant low over southern Oklahoma and got absorbed by a fast-moving cold front from the west twelve hours later.
Preparations and Impact[]
| Region | Fatalities | Damage (2023 USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Dominican Republic | 27 | $600 million |
| Haiti | 65 | $965 million |
| Cuba | 2 | $120 million |
| Jamaica | 1 | $15 million |
| Texas | 53 | $70 billion |
| Louisiana | 9 | $2.4 billion |
| Rest of the United States | 1 | $200 million |
| Totals: | 154 | $74.3 billion |
Lesser Antilles[]
As the precursor to Franklin passed through the Lesser Antilles early on August 27, it had minimal impacts there. In Martinique and Dominica, rainfall of around 4 inches (100 mm) along with some gusty winds of up to 30 mph (45 km/h) were observed as the precursor brought along numerous thunderstorms. Apart from a minor power outage that impacted 5,000 people, there were no deaths and damages reported on those islands.
Hispaniola[]
While Franklin was strengthening in the northeast Caribbean Sea approaching Hispaniola, the government of the Dominican Republic issued a tropical storm watch for the southern coast of the country. On August 28 when it was expected to become a hurricane, the watch was upgraded to a hurricane watch and tropical storm warnings were then being issued. Those warnings stayed in effect when Franklin's eye came ashore in the Dominican Republic near Boca Chica on August 29. It was the second hurricane in two years to strike the country.
Franklin produced heavy rainfall to the island, reaching 10-15 inches (250-380 mm) in certain parts of the Dominican Republic. Due to the storm bringing prolonged thunderstorms to the country, the city of Cap-Haïtien in Haiti received around 18 inches (455 mm) over the span of 24 hours. This torrential rainfall triggered several landslides and mudslides all over the island, killing tens in the process in that country and Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of people across the two countries were left powerless and without power for several prolonged days in the wake of the hurricane. About 50,000 buildings and houses were either damaged or destroyed in the island, most of those were from Haiti which had landslides mangle their poor infrastructure. President Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic declared a nationwide state of emergency on August 30; Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry followed up with their state of emergency a day later in seven of their departments. The storm inflicted extensive damages to the island of Hispaniola that totaled up to $1.6 billion (2023 USD) and caused 92 fatalities in all, 65 were from Haiti and 27 were from the Dominican Republic.
Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas[]
Tropical Storm Franklin approaching eastern Cuba on September 2
When Franklin regained tropical storm status on August 30, the government immediately issued a tropical storm warning for Guantánamo Province as it headed toward it. Franklin clipped the island's southeastern edge later that day, bringing wind gusts of up to 45 mph (75 km/h) and heavy rainfall to the town of Imías. Its outer bands also brought some thunderstorms to the Bahamas' southernmost district, Inagua, with minimal impacts.
While the storm dipped down in between Cuba and Jamaica heading west, its tropical storm-force windfield began to spread out rapidly. As a result, northern Jamaica and parts of southern Cuba were put under a tropical storm warning late on August 31. As the storm was forecast to curve more toward the north, the Cuban government also issued a tropical storm watch for most of the western side of the island, including Havana. Meanwhile, Jamaica reported an indirect death caused by a stricken tree falling right into her house where she was, with the island's damage totaling J$2.28 billion (US$15 million). Flash flooding killed another person in Santiago de Cuba while his car got swept away.
Franklin made landfall in the Zapata Peninsula early on September 2 as a 65 mph (100 km/h) tropical storm. Due to the large size of the system, the entirety of Cuba got drenched with heavy rainfall, with 24-hour totals of up to 12 inches (305 mm) observed in the city of Cienfuegos. A wind gust of 70 mph (110 km/h) was believed to have occurred near the city of Matanzas. An EF1 tornado spawned near the town of Santa Cruz del Norte and claimed one person in the process. The province of Mayabeque suffered a temporary power outage that impacted about 210,000 customers. Around 1,900 buildings across the island were damaged, and in total Cuba suffered monetary losses of approximately 2.88 billion Cuban pesos (US$120 million).
United States[]
Texas[]
Hurricane Franklin shortly after making landfall in Texas on September 6
Upon Franklin's upgrade to a hurricane late on September 3 and the NHC expecting the storm to come ashore in Texas, a hurricane watch was put into effect from its southeastern border to Matagorda, with a tropical storm watch extending to Port Aransas. Additionally, a storm surge watch became in effect from its southeastern border to Port Aransas. Later on as Franklin was slowly approaching towards the state on September 4, the watches became warnings, along with an extreme wind warning (indicating areas that will experience sustained surface winds 115 mph (185 km/h) or greater within one hour, due to a landfalling hurricane) from Quintana to Gilchrist. Texan governor Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency for a total of 37 counties the next day, with mandatory evacuations issued for 10 counties ahead of the storm closing in on the state. Over 490,000 people in southeastern Texas evacuated to a safe area, with all highways clogged with traffic coming out of that area.
Franklin had very devastating effects throughout southeastern Texas when it made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane late on September 6. It brought very high storm surge of up to 12 feet on the coast and produced very heavy torrential rain, causing unprecedented flooding. The city of Lumberton recorded 32.58 inches of rain during a timespan of 48 hours. Thousands of buildings and homes were destroyed as a result of intense storm surge, winds, and flooding, leaving many displaced after the storm.
Louisiana[]
Due to the sheer size of the hurricane, southern areas of Louisiana suffered notable damage from Franklin's outer bands. Morgan City experienced wind gusts of 90 mph (150 km/h) and around 7 inches (180 mm) of rainfall within a 24-hour period. Franklin projected storm surge of up to 8 ft (2.4 m) tall to the state's coastline, along with heavy rainfall throughout southern Louisiana. The hurricane caused floods that damaged and destroyed many buildings, and spawned as many as ten tornadoes all throughout the state, attributing to the fatalities of 9 people.
Other U.S. States[]
Tropical storm warnings were put into effect in the western Florida Keys as Franklin was headed towards them as a strong tropical storm on September 2. It barely missed the islands to the west, however it brought in storm surge of up to 5 feet and heavy rainfall that indirectly killed a person in Key West when he got swept away in the flood/storm surge waters. About 50 buildings were damaged across the Keys, and the total amounted to $25 million.
Retirement[]
On April 9, 2024, at the 46th session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Franklin owing to the widespread devastation especially in southeastern Texas and surrounding areas, and it will never be used for another Atlantic hurricane again. It was replaced by Forrest for the 2029 Atlantic hurricane season.