Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley Summary
Hurricane Charley was a very small but powerful hurricane that caused over $14B USD (2004) in damages across Cuba, Florida and the mid-Atlantic coast. Hurricane Charley’s landfall on Florida would signal a rough season for Florida as three more hurricanes would target the peninsula.
Hurricane Charley emerged off the coast of Africa as a tropical wave on August 4. On August 9, while the tropical wave was just south of Barbados, it began developing curved banding features indicative of a low-level/surface circulation. The Tropical Prediction Center began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression Three.
Early on August 10, Tropical Depression Three was upgraded to Tropical Storm Charley as the storm entered the Caribbean Sea. Being steered by a mid-level high pressure ridge to the north, Tropical Storm Charley moved rapidly west-northwestward across the Caribbean.
Late on August 11, Tropical Storm Charley was upgraded to a hurricane as it approached the Caribbean island of Jamaica. At this time, Charley was also approaching the western edge of the high pressure ridge and began to turn northwestward.
Hurricane Charley made landfall early on the morning of August 13 near Playa del Cajio, Cuba. Interaction with the landmass of Cuba caused Hurricane Charley’s eye to shrink in diameter. Cuban radar estimated sustained winds were 105kts (121mph or 194kph) – Charley was a category three hurricane.
Hurricane Charley weakened only slightly as it passed over the western tip of Cuba becoming a category two hurricane with winds of 95kts (109mph or 176kph). By this time, Hurricane Charley was moving more northward and continued a fast pace around 15kts (17mph or 28kph).
Immediately upon exiting Cuba, Hurricane Charley underwent a phase of rapid intensification. On the night of August 12, EDT, Hurricane Charley had a central pressure of 975mb (28.79in). When Hurricane Charley made landfall in Charlotte Harbor, Florida at 5PM EDT, August 13, the central pressure had dropped to 941mb (27.79in) – a rate of 1mb (0.02in) per hour. From 3:22PM UTC to 7:57PM UTC, the pressure dropped from 964mb (28.47in) to 941mb (27.79in) around the time of landfall, a deepening rate of about 5mb (0.15in) per hour. Because of this pressure fall, wind speeds increased from 90kts (104mph or 167kph) to 122kts (140mph or 225kph) during the same time period.
Hurricane Charley continued north-northwest across central Florida including Orlando, Florida which saw sustained winds of 69kts (79mph or 128kph) with gusts to 91kts (105mph or 169kph). Hurricane Charley exited Florida near Daytona as a minimal category one hurricane with winds of 75kts (86mph or 139kph). Charley made a third landfall midday on August 14 near Cape Romain, South Carolina. Hurricane Charley had been unable to strengthen significantly and winds remained around 70kts (81mph or 130kph). Hurricane Charley’s last landfall came near North Myrtle Beach, North Carolina a couple of hours later with winds of 65kts (75mph or 120kph).
After the third and final landfall, Charley weakened to a strong tropical storm and began interacting with a frontal zone. As Tropical Storm Charley exited the United States for the last time near Virginia Beach, Virginia, the system had already become embedded in the frontal zone and was declared extratropical. The last official advisory was issued late in the morning, EDT, of August 15.
Tornadoes and Storm Surge
Hurricane Charley spawned nine tornadoes across Florida, five in North Carolina and two in Virginia. The strongest tornado was an F1 that hit late-evening August 13 near north Daytona Beach, Florida.
The largest measured storm surge came near Estero Bay near Fort Myers Beach; 4.2 feet. There were also visual estimates of storm surges of 6 to 7 feet on Sanibel and Estero Islands. Most areas, however, averaged no more than a 3.5 feet storm surge.
Fatalities
Hurricane Charley was directly responsible for 10 deaths in the United States. In Charlotte County, Florida a husband and wife, who were in a mobile home destroyed by the hurricane, were killed, and two men died after being struck by flying debris. In Lee County, Florida, a man died as a result of a tree falling onto the structure he was in. In Sarasota County, Florida, the severe weather associated with Charley caused a woman to drive off the road and hit a tree, resulting in her death. In DeSoto County, Florida, a man was killed while in a tool shed hit by strong winds. In Orange County, Florida, a girl died as a result of strong winds blowing a moving van into the vehicle she was in, and in Polk County, Florida, a man drowned when he drove off of a flooded highway into a lake. In Rhode Island, a man drowned in a rip current. There were also 4 deaths in Cuba and 1 in Jamaica. The direct death toll due to Hurricane Charley stands at 15. An additional 20 U.S. deaths, all in Florida, were indirectly caused by Hurricane Charley.
There are two estimates of insured damages in the United States from Hurricane Charley. The Property Claims Service reports insured damages of $6.755B USD (2004) in Florida, $25M USD (2004) in North Carolina and $20M USD (2004) in South Carolina, making a total of $6.8B USD (2004) in insured losses. The Insurance Information Institute reports an estimated total of $7.4B USD (2004) in insured losses. Using a two to one ratio of total damages to these two insured damage amounts, a rough preliminary estimate of the total damage is $14B USD (2004). This would make Charley the second costliest hurricane in U.S. history behind Hurricane Andrew fourth costliest hurricane in U.S. history behind Hurricane’s Katrina, Andrew and Wilma.
In the spring of 2005, the World Meteorological Organization officially retired the name Charley. It has been replaced by the name Colin and will go into effect for the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season.
| Date/Time (UTC) | Lat | Lon | Wind | Gust | Press | Fwd Dir | Eye |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-08-09 12:00:00 | 11.40 | 59.20 | 30 | 0 | 1010 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-09 18:00:00 | 11.70 | 61.10 | 30 | 0 | 1009 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-10 00:00:00 | 12.20 | 63.20 | 30 | 0 | 1009 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-10 06:00:00 | 12.90 | 65.30 | 35 | 0 | 1007 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-10 12:00:00 | 13.80 | 67.60 | 40 | 0 | 1004 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-10 18:00:00 | 14.90 | 69.80 | 45 | 0 | 1000 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-11 00:00:00 | 15.60 | 71.80 | 55 | 0 | 999 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-11 06:00:00 | 16.00 | 73.70 | 55 | 0 | 999 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-11 12:00:00 | 16.30 | 75.40 | 60 | 0 | 995 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-11 18:00:00 | 16.70 | 76.80 | 65 | 0 | 993 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-12 00:00:00 | 17.40 | 78.10 | 65 | 0 | 992 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-12 06:00:00 | 18.20 | 79.30 | 75 | 0 | 988 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-12 12:00:00 | 19.20 | 80.70 | 80 | 0 | 984 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-12 18:00:00 | 20.50 | 81.60 | 90 | 0 | 980 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-13 00:00:00 | 21.70 | 82.20 | 90 | 0 | 976 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-13 06:00:00 | 23.00 | 82.60 | 105 | 0 | 966 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-13 12:00:00 | 24.40 | 82.90 | 95 | 0 | 969 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-13 18:00:00 | 26.10 | 82.40 | 125 | 0 | 947 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-14 00:00:00 | 28.10 | 81.60 | 75 | 0 | 970 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-14 06:00:00 | 30.10 | 80.80 | 75 | 0 | 993 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-14 12:00:00 | 32.30 | 79.70 | 65 | 0 | 988 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-14 18:00:00 | 34.50 | 78.10 | 60 | 0 | 1000 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-15 00:00:00 | 36.90 | 75.90 | 40 | 0 | 1012 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-15 06:00:00 | 39.30 | 73.80 | 35 | 0 | 1014 | 000:00 | 0 |
| 2004-08-15 12:00:00 | 41.20 | 71.10 | 30 | 0 | 1018 | 000:00 | 0 |
