Hurricane Charley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This article is about the 2004 hurricane. For other storms named Hurricane Charley, see Hurricane Charley (disambiguation).

**Hurricane Charley**
Hurricane Charley at landfall in Florida.
Duration	Aug. 9 - 14, 2004
Highest winds	150 mph (240 km/h) sustained
Damages	$15-17 billion (2004 USD)
Fatalities	15 direct, 20 indirect
Areas affected	Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Florida, South Carolina
Part of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. It caused major damage to parts of Cuba as it crossed the island as a Category 3 hurricane, and strengthened further before reaching the U.S. It made landfall at Charlotte Harbor in Charlotte County, Florida, as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It was the strongest hurricane to strike the area since Hurricane Donna in 1960 and the strongest hurricane to strike Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. After following the East Coast of the U.S., it eventually dissipated near Cape Cod.

[edit]

Storm history

NEXRAD image of Hurricane Charley over Charlotte Harbor, Florida just after landfall. (animated version)

Storm path

Charley was initially a well-developed tropical wave approaching the Windward Islands. On August 9, while around 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Grenada, this wave organized enough to become the third tropical depression of the year. After crossing the islands into the eastern Caribbean Sea, the depression strengthened further, becoming Tropical Storm Charley on the morning of August 10.

The storm moved rapidly across the Caribbean, and reached hurricane strength on August 11, 90 miles (150 km) south of Kingston, Jamaica. Hurricane Charley then passed just south of Jamaica, and the next morning passed between Grand Cayman and Little Cayman. On the night of August 12, Charley passed just east of the Isle of Youth, then over mainland Cuba, just west of downtown Havana as a category 3 hurricane with winds estimated at 120 mph (190 km/h).

After passing over Cuba, Charley weakened slightly to 110 mph and crossed the Straits of Florida. Around 8 a.m. EDT, Charley passed over the Dry Tortugas. Tropical storm force winds of 41 mph (65 km/h) were recorded at Key West International Airport, 70 miles (115 km) east.

The course Charley took at this time caught many by surprise. Instead of following the predicted track through the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, Charley made an abrupt turn to the northeast, heading for Fort Myers and Sanibel Island. This track was well within the official forecast's margin of error, and NHC forecaster intern Robbie Berg publicly blamed the media for misleading residents of areas further south [1].

Charley making landfall on August 13, 2004.

At the same time as it turned, Charley rapidly strengthened, going from a Category 2 storm at 110 mph (170 km/h) with a central pressure of 965 millibars to a Category 4 storm at 150 mph (235 km/h) with a central pressure of 941 millibars in only three hours. This rapid intensification was outside the official forecast, which called for only a slight strengthening before landfall. The change in strength was so drastic that the NHC issued a special hurricane advisory outside of its normal schedule. Some have speculated that the winds were even stronger at landfall, possibly at or near Category 5 strength (155 mph or 250 km/h), based on later images and assessments. However, the minimum central pressure of 941 mb does not justify such.

Hurricane Charley, just after its second US landfall in South Carolina. This angled image of Hurricane Charley was taken by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite at 12:45 p.m. EDT on August 14, 2004.

Charley became the second tropical storm to strike Florida in 24 hours when Tropical Storm Bonnie struck the Florida panhandle in Apalachicola at 11 a.m. EDT on August 12, 22 hours before Charley went over the Dry Tortugas. This made 2004 the first year two officially designated storms have struck the same state in the same 24-hour period since 1906. Mainland landfall occurred only 29 hours apart.

At 3:45 p.m. EDT, Charley made landfall at Cayo Costa, north of Fort Myers. Charley moved inland near Charlotte Harbor shortly afterwards. Its track would take it directly over Port Charlotte, Arcadia, Wauchula, Kissimmee and Orlando. Sustained winds over 100 mph (160 km/h) were felt as far inland as Orlando.

Near midnight local time, Charley began moving back over water, exiting Florida near Daytona Beach. It returned to land around 11 a.m. near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina still retaining hurricane strength. Charley continued to run off and on land up the East Coast of the United States, and dissipated near Cape Cod around mid-day on August 15.

Charley's strongest gusts were measured at 180 mph (290 km/h) at Punta Gorda. This is an amazing speed for a hurricane.

[edit]

Impact

Costliest Atlantic hurricanes, 1851-2004 Cost refers to total estimated property damage.
Rank	Hurricane	Year	Cost (2004 USD)
1	Andrew	1992	$43.672 billion
2	Fifi	1974	$20 billion (2005 USD)
3	Charley	2004	$15 billion
4	Ivan	2004	$14.2 billion
5	Hugo	1989	$12.25 billion
Source: NOAA

One death in Jamaica, four deaths in Cuba, and ten deaths in the United States were directly attributed to Charley. Numerous injuries were reported, as well as twenty indirect deaths in the U.S.

Property damage from Charley was estimated by the NHC at $15 billion (2004 USD) [2]. This makes Charley the second costliest hurricane in United States history behind Hurricane Andrew's $26 billion in the 1992 season, though it will likely be surpassed by the 2005 season's Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

Damage in Cuba has been estimated at over $1 billion USD. [3]

NEXRAD image of Hurricane Charley heading for Orlando, Florida

As many as two million people were initially reported without power in Florida, and a week after landfall it was estimated that about 240,000 were still without power. The Tampa Electric Company cut power in downtown Tampa to avoid potential damage to the underground power grid from short circuits, caused by the storm surge of conductive seawater. Havana's power was also knocked out by Charley when it passed by. Over a million Florida residents were evacuated.

Mandatory evacuation of non-residents, recreational vehicles, mobile home residents, and special needs residents from the Florida Keys was ordered. An evacuation order for the coastal areas of Lee County was also issued. Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and Sarasota Counties all had mandatory evacuations for areas prone to the effects of storm surge.

President George W. Bush declared Florida a federal disaster area, and Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina declared a state of emergency, ordering an evacuation of two coastal counties, including Myrtle Beach.

President George W. Bush, aboard Marine One, surveys hurricane damage at a mobile home park in Fort Myers, Florida.

Theme parks in Orlando, including Universal Orlando, Seaworld and Disney's parks closed early; Disney Parks were open exclusively for those staying in Disney Resorts. Disney's Animal Kingdom never opened at all, making this only the second time Disney's parks have closed due to a hurricane (The first was during Hurricane Floyd.[4]). Ironically, Hurricane Charley closed the Typhoon Lagoon park longer than the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. The parks, except for Animal Kingdom and other areas, reopened on Saturday, August 14 with limited staff.

Public schools in some counties in the path of the hurricane were scheduled to be closed for two weeks.[5] In some areas this was necessary because the school buildings were damaged or destroyed (especially in Charlotte County). In other parts of Florida, no power or water was yet available.

Agricultural losses were heavy. Florida is the second-largest producer of oranges in the world and the storm damaged one-third of the state's orange groves.

The loss to the citrus crop was estimated at $150 million. The loss could reach one-quarter of the total crop. Other crops and agricultural buildings and equipment also suffered.

The name Charley was retired in the spring of 2005 by the World Meteorological Organization and will be replaced by Colin in the 2010 season.

[edit]