Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the United States. It was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to 15, and at its peak intensity it attained winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. It made landfall in Southwest Florida at maximum strength, becoming the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992 and tied with Hurricane Ian as the strongest hurricane to hit southwest Florida in recorded history.
After moving slowly through the Caribbean, Charley crossed Cuba on Friday, August 13, as a Category 3 hurricane, causing heavy damage and four deaths. That same day, it crossed over the Dry Tortugas, just 22 hours after Tropical Storm Bonnie had struck northwestern Florida. It was the first time in history that two tropical cyclones struck the same state within a 24-hour period. At its peak intensity of , Hurricane Charley struck the northern tip of Captiva Island and the southern tip of North Captiva Island, before crossing over Bokeelia causing severe damage. Charley then continued to produce severe damage as it made landfall on the peninsula in Punta Gorda. It continued to the north-northeast along the Peace River corridor, devastating Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Cleveland, Fort Ogden, Nocatee, Arcadia, Zolfo Springs, Sebring, Lake Placid, and Wauchula. Zolfo Springs was isolated for nearly two days as large trees, power poles, power lines, transformers, and debris filled the streets. Wauchula sustained gusts to ; buildings in the downtown areas caved onto Main Street.
The storm passed through the central and eastern parts of the Orlando metropolitan area, carrying winds gusting up to . The city of Winter Park, north of Orlando, also sustained considerable damage since its many old, large oak trees had not experienced high winds. Falling trees tore down power utilities and smashed cars, and their huge roots lifted underground water and sewer utilities. The storm slowed as it exited the state over Ormond Beach just north of Daytona Beach. The storm was absorbed by a front in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after sunrise on August 15, near southeastern Massachusetts.
Charley was initially expected to hit further north in Tampa and caught many Floridians off-guard due to the storm turning toward the Florida peninsula sooner than anticipated, within six hours before landfall. Along its path, Charley caused 10 deaths and $16.9 billion in damage to insured residential property, making it the second costliest hurricane in United States history at the time. Charley was a compact, fast-moving storm, which limited the scope and severity of the damage.
Meteorological history
Charley began as a tropical wave that moved off the west coast of Africa on August 4. It moved quickly westward and steadily organized over the open Atlantic Ocean, with convection developing in curved bands. The wave continued to develop as it approached the Lesser Antilles, and became Tropical Depression Three on August 9 about south-southeast of Barbados, near the island of Grenada. Low upper-level wind shear and well-defined outflow contributed to further intensification, and the depression strengthened on August 10, despite being located in the eastern Caribbean, which is an area not particularly suited to tropical cyclogenesis. At this time, the National Hurricane Center in Miami designated the name Charley.
A strong ridge of high pressure to the system's north forced Charley to change track quickly to the west-northwest. It continued to strengthen and became a Category 1 hurricane on August 11, about south of Kingston, Jamaica. The storm was being steered around the periphery of the high pressure area, and as a result, Charley changed direction toward the northwest. The following day, the core passed southwest of Jamaica, affecting the island on August 11 and 12. The storm then passed northeast of Grand Cayman, reaching Category 2 status just after passing the island. The hurricane continued to strengthen as it turned to the northwest and rounded the southwest portion of the subtropical ridge, becoming a major hurricane—a storm classified as a Category 3 hurricane or higher—just before making landfall on southern Cuba. Charley came ashore near Punta Cayamas with maximum sustained winds of and gusts of up to , at about 0430 UTC on August 13. It crossed the island, passing about west of downtown Havana before weakening to .
After crossing Cuba near Menelao Mora, Hurricane Charley accelerated to the north-northeast, toward the southwest coast of Florida in response to the approach of an unseasonal mid-tropospheric trough. Charley passed over the Dry Tortugas at 1200 UTC on August 13, with maximum winds of about . The strike occurred only 22 hours after Tropical Storm Bonnie made landfall on St. Vincent Island, marking the first time two tropical cyclones hit the same state within a 24-hour period. Charley then explosively intensified, strengthening from a hurricane with a minimum central barometric pressure of to a hurricane with a pressure of in just three hours. It continued to strengthen as it turned more to the northeast, and made landfall near the island of Cayo Costa, Florida as a Category 4 hurricane with a pressure of at approximately 1945 UTC on August 13. An hour later, the hurricane struck Punta Gorda as a storm and then passed up through Port Charlotte and the Charlotte Harbor. The eye had shrunk before landfall, limiting the most powerful winds to an area within of the center.
Charley weakened considerably due to its passage over land, but still retained sustained winds of about as it passed directly over Orlando between 0020 and 0140 UTC August 14; gusts of up to were recorded at Orlando International Airport. It cut a swath of destruction across Florida, also passing near Kissimmee. The hurricane reemerged into the Atlantic Ocean after crossing directly over New Smyrna Beach as a Category 1 hurricane, but restrengthened slightly over open waters. Continuing to move rapidly to the north-northeast, Charley struck near Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina as an hurricane, moved offshore briefly, and made its final landfall near North Myrtle Beach as a minimal hurricane, with winds of . Charley then began interacting with an approaching frontal boundary, becoming a tropical storm over southeastern North Carolina. After moving back into the Atlantic Ocean near Virginia Beach on August 15, the storm became extratropical and became embedded in the frontal zone. The extratropical storm continued to move rapidly to the northeast, and was completely absorbed by the front shortly after sunrise on August 15, near southeastern Massachusetts.
Preparations
Caribbean Jamaica On August 10, the National Hurricane Center (NHC), based in Miami, Florida, issued a tropical storm watch for the entire island of Jamaica as Tropical Storm Charley intensified over the eastern Caribbean. Later that day, the watch was upgraded to a warning as the storm quickly approached the island. Early on August 11, a hurricane watch was declared for the island as Charley neared hurricane intensity. Late on August 11, all watches and warnings for Jamaica were changed to hurricane warnings as Charley attained Category 1 status on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The warning was later discontinued on August 12 as Hurricane Charley tracked towards Cuba, no longer a threat to Jamaica.
Following the issuance of hurricane watches, Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Transport and Works in Jamaica closed both airports, Norman Manley International Airport and Sangster International Airport, on the island and shut down all ports. A total of 33 flights were canceled or delayed by the storm. Roughly 3,000 passengers from the Carnival Conquest cruise ship were diverted from their scheduled arrival in Montego Bay, resulting in millions of dollars in losses. Another cruise ship, The Triumph, carrying 2,700 passengers was also diverted. Most businesses on the island were closed on August 12. Emergency shelters were set up across the island ahead of the storm; however, press reports indicate that no one sought refuge in shelters. Residents along the coast were urged to evacuate by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management due to the risk of storm surge and large swells that could inundate low-lying communities. Up to of rain fell in eastern portions of the island, triggering mudslides.
On August 11, the Jamaica Red Cross opened its Emergency Operations Center in preparation for Hurricane Charley and placed the warning level at one, the lowest warning level. Residents throughout the country stocked up on emergency supplies and non-perishable food, noted by an increase in sales at shops. In Saint James Parish, emergency officials activated all necessary agencies by August 11. Late on August 11, emergency officials quickly opened 50 shelters in the parish. In Saint Elizabeth Parish, 100 residents sought refuge in the six shelters opened throughout the parish. A total of $1.5 million (JMD; US$17,000) was allocated by the Ministry of Local Government for repairs after the storm. The Jamaica Red Cross alerted local branches to be prepared as Charley approached.
Other areas Cuban government officials issued a hurricane watch for the southern coastline on August 11, two days before the hurricane struck the island. This was upgraded to a hurricane warning on the 12th, 13 ½ hours before Charley made landfall. Because of the threat, the government issued a mandatory evacuation for 235,000 citizens and 159,000 animals in the area of the expected impact. An additional 3,800 residents were evacuated from offshore islands, while 47,000 in Havana were transported from old, unsafe buildings to safer areas. The people were transported to shelters provisioned with supplies. In addition, the power grid in southern Cuba was turned off to avoid accidents.
The Cayman Islands issued a hurricane warning on August 11, a day before the hurricane passed near the archipelago.
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