Hurricane Charley 6 Years Ago Today

[TampaFl]

Friday Audust 13, 2004 Hurricane Charley made landfall along the Florida Southwest Coast in Punta Gorda.

http://www.storm2k.org/weather/hw3.php?config=&forecast=tropsystems&year=2004&region=NT&hwvstormid=3&alt=tropsystempage

Thoughts & comments welcomed

Robert

[Frank2]

Yes, the 2010 calendar is the same as 2004 - scary how Charley went from a Cat 2 to a Cat 4 in less than 6 hours - Jim Cantore found that out first hand...

[wx4tv]

Yes, the 2010 calendar is the same as 2004 - scary how Charley went from a Cat 2 to a Cat 4 in less than 6 hours - Jim Cantore found that out first hand...

So did we. Charley, along with so many other tropical cyclones through the years, taught me that you can never completely rely upon the ability of humans or computers to accurately forecast what will happen with nature.

While I really enjoy covering a good landfalling hurricane, I pray that we see none this year!

[vacanechaser]

beat me to it...

here is a link to my site with a write up, photos, and links to video on hurricane charley... first page starts with tropical storm bonnie, the day before and then the link to charley is at the bottom of the page....

http://www.vastormphoto.com/charley2004pg1.htm


Jesse V. Bass III
http://www.vastormphoto.com
Hurricane Intercept Research Team

[Portastorm]

Of all the video I have seen over the years from storm chasers ... I think some of the clips from the eyewall of Charley are the most intense/scary stuff I've witnessed. What an impressive storm this was!

[Extremeweatherguy]

Hard to believe it has already been six years!

Here are some pictures and video captures I took from the Winter Park/Orlando area following the storm. It is definitely not everyday that you get to experience damage like this well inland:

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e371/ ... 0_0618.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e371/ ... 0_0619.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e371/ ... 0_0637.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e371/ ... 0_0638.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e371/ ... 0_0639.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e371/ ... 0_0640.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e371/ ... 0_0654.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e371/ ... 0_0655.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e371/ ... 0_0656.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e371/ ... 0_0657.jpg

[lostsole]

I was there just over 8 hours after the eye went through Charlotte County to help my sister in law and a best friend with gas, water and other stuff. I could not believe the destruction! I had been living in Pensacola at the time for almost 4 years with no storms. It was the first time I saw what a hurricane could do. I remember clearly telling my wife, I hope nothing like this comes through Pensacola anytime soon. It was around a month or so later that Ivan came through Pensacola. It was a scary experience and to my surprise and horror, was even more devastating than Charlie. Since then I have witnessed other smaller storms as well as Katrina and Ike, and each time when I think I have seen the worst, it got worse. But was really demoralized the entire coast so far the most was the BP oil spill. You talk about a whole coastline of anxiety. The depression and helplessness was palpable. But just like the big storms, the sun will rise the next day and people will recover. Living with disasters is something the human race has always and always will have to endure.

[Cyclone1]

Still feels like yesterday.

[vacanechaser]

Still feels like yesterday.

we were right there in port charlotte... eye passed right over us... sun came out, and the wind was calm.. incrdible to see...



Jesse V. Bass III
http://www.vastormphoto.com
Hurricane Intercept Research Team

[CrazyC83]

If it had even 2 more hours over water, it probably would have made it to Category 5.

The media blew that one for sure. The forecasters didn't do anything wrong really. The Charlotte Harbor area was under a Hurricane Warning well before it hit. All it took was a slight wobble.

[Bocadude85]

Still feels like yesterday.

we were right there in port charlotte... eye passed right over us... sun came out, and the wind was calm.. incrdible to see...



Jesse V. Bass III
http://www.vastormphoto.com
Hurricane Intercept Research Team

Its amazing to look at that loop and see how close Charley came to slamming into Ft myers and as bad as the damage was in Punta Gorda imagine how much worse it would have been in Ft Myers.

[Sanibel]

I was evacuated in Miami watching it on the internet and TV thinking a category 4 hurricane was trashing my house. Charley snapped an 18 inch tree trunk like a toothpick and laid the crown down the length of our driveway blocking it. Our lanai was ripped away like a giant hand came down and tore it off. I spent 4 miserable days in a crowded arena until they let us back on the island where we saw giant Australian Pines downed all over and concrete utility poles snapped and crushed with the power lines strewn all over. We spent a few more days in the heat without any electricity, water, or sewer in a hot box because we couldn't raise the electric shutters. (We got bottled water from FEMA) But the house was mostly intact, thank God.


I wish I had stayed but a Bolivar scenario was always possible which isn't worth the risk.

[JonathanBelles]

This was the storm that started my intense weather watching just 6 years ago. 6 years ago I knew nothing about hurricanes, and I was used to blizzards in the snow belt of NY. Now I am about to start my Bachelor's degree in meteorology at FSU. It's amazing how much things change in 6 years. It's still amazing to see the trees in Polk County where three hurricanes of 2004 criss crossed, still broken and snapped in many places across I-4 and Polk Co. Its also amazing that this 6th anniversary comes on yet another Friday the 13th. I'm so glad Colin went out to sea.

[StormClouds63]

Very small storm (area) but really packed a punch. For a time, appeared Tampa/St. Pete might get hit before the final track became established.

The summer of 2004 was quite unusual because we had fronts passing through our area by early-to-mid August. Several record lows were reached during the month of August. It virtually assured SE Texas and SW LA that little or no activity would occur. Oddly enough, we got the 2nd landfall of Ivan (as a very weak TS) later that season.

[BigA]

I was in an Orlando suburb for the storm. The core went right over us, probably at upper-end category 1 strength. Lots of trees down around the neighborhood. My first hurricane (and only hurricane conditions) that I have ever experienced.

It was also a pretty terrible 10th birthday present for my brother.

[JTE50]

Jeff Gammons and I put together this short video from our archives that day. We were in Punta Gorda taking in the sights and sounds. http://bit.ly/d8oUCs

[Florida1118]

I still remember it...I also like to note that Friday the 13 is a unlucky day.

[Ptarmigan]

Charley was one small and powerful hurricane that did great damage. I have seen footage from Orlando of Charley. What a storm it was. Strong winds and heavy rains.

[Sanibel]

Jeff Gammons and I put together this short video from our archives that day. We were in Punta Gorda taking in the sights and sounds. http://bit.ly/d8oUCs

Wow. Impressive video. Some of those eyewall gusts pulled the roof off that building in one piece like ripping a blanket off a bed.

I saw one guy at the arena who was bruised and bandaged because his trailer roof caved-in in one of those gusts and roughed him up.

[vbhoutex]

Very small storm (area) but really packed a punch. For a time, appeared Tampa/St. Pete might get hit before the final track became established.

The summer of 2004 was quite unusual because we had fronts passing through our area by early-to-mid August. Several record lows were reached during the month of August. It virtually assured SE Texas and SW LA that little or no activity would occur. Oddly enough, we got the 2nd landfall of Ivan (as a very weak TS) later that season.

The front that turned Charley gave us a record low of 64f that fateful day 6 years ago here in Houston. I just found that out today though. I was so focused on Charley that it took me 6 years to find that out!LOL!!