Hurricane Francelia was the deadliest hurricane of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season after causing significant flooding to Central America, especially Belize and Guatemala. The sixth named storm and fourth hurricane of the season, Francelia developed from a tropical wave in the southeastern Caribbean Sea on August 29. It moved west-northwestward and strengthened into a tropical storm on the following day. On September 1, Francelia reached hurricane status, shortly before re-curving west-southwest. While approaching Central America, the storm intensified and peaked as a 115 mph (185 km/h) Category 3 hurricane on September 2. Francelia weakened slightly before making landfall near Punta Gorda, Belize (then British Honduras) late on September 3. The storm quickly weakened inland and dissipated by the following day.