1979 Planet Ceres Atlantic hurricane season

The 1979 Planet Ceres Atlantic Hurricane Season ran from June 1, 1979 to November 30, 1979, but had activity extend past the end of the season with Hurricane Isabel, a rare December hurricane. Notable storms include Hurricanes Bob, Fabian, and Henry. When Hurricane Bob hit South Carolina with 115 mph winds, it would wind up causing $1.5 billion (1979 USD) in damage and would cause 24 deaths. The effects of Hurricane Fabian were some of the most tragic of the season; the storm was responsible for over 2,600 deaths as it stormed through the Dominican Republic, leading to over $3 billion (1979 USD) in damage. Hurricane Henry swept through the eastern Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana, leading to over 1,000 deaths and $10 billion (1979 USD) in damage, making it the costliest Atlantic hurricane on record up until that time. In all, over 3,817 deaths resulted from the season, as well as nearly $42 billion (2008 USD) in damage.

Storms

 * Tropical Storm Alicia: Killed 77 people, mostly from a plane crash, and caused $164 million (1979 USD) in damage when it struck the Florida panhandle.
 * Tropical Depression Two: Did not affect land.
 * Hurricane Bob: A major storm of Category 3 strength. Caused $1.6 billion (1979 USD; $4.7 billion 2008 USD) in damage when it struck the Carolinas as a major hurricane, as well as 26 deaths, of which 6 were indirect. Despite the destruction, the name Bob was not retired. The reason why is unknown. Regardless, Bob is the costliest storm on record not to have its name retired.
 * Tropical Storm Chloe: Moderate storm that stayed out to sea.
 * Tropical Storm Dylan was the weakest storm of the season. It stayed out to sea, causing no damage or deaths.
 * Hurricane Elena: A Category 1 storm. Even though Elena had minimal affects as a tropical cyclone (tropical effects were limited to rainy weather on Bermuda), it caused extensive damage to areas of Great Britain and Ireland as an extratropical European windstorm. Monetary estimates are around $680 million (2008 USD).
 * Hurricane Fabian: A Category 5 hurricane. Fabian was responsible for catastrophic effects on Hispaniola, where the storm killed over 2,600 people and left behind $2.4 billion (1979 USD) in damage.
 * Tropical Depression Eight: Affected the Azores, causing minor damage.
 * Hurricane Gloria: A Category 2 hurricane. Struck Newfoundland as a strong tropical storm, causing $32 million (1979 USD) in damage and killing two people.
 * Hurricane Henry: A Category 5 hurricane. Swept through the eastern Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, southern Florida, and Louisiana, killing over 1,000 people and causing $3.62 billion (1979 USD) in damage.
 * Tropical Depression Eleven: Did not threaten land.
 * Hurricane Isabel: A rare December hurricane that peaked at Category 1 strength. Struck Florida at near intensity, killing 6 people and causing $24 million (1979 USD) in damage.

Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating
Despite producing nine named storms, which is considered slightly below average, 1979 had an ACE of nearly 130, which is in the above-normal grading. The unseasonably high ACE can be attributed to such storms as Bob, Fabian, Gloria, and Henry, all of which had ACE totals exceeding 10, of which Fabian and Henry exceeded 30, with Henry exceeding 50.

Storm names
The following names were used to name storms that formed in the north Atlantic on Planet Ceres in 1979. The names not retired from this list were used again in the 1985 season. This is the first time this list was used, and therefore the first time these names were used. Names not assigned are marked in.

Retirement
The WMO retired two names in the spring of 1980: Fabian and Henry. They were replaced in the 1985 season with Filburt and Heffer (named for the Rocko's Modern Life characters of the same names).