CHARLEY BOMBING BEFORE LANDFALL

[StormChasr]

Charley and Andrew were both 100 year storms. Similar, though Andrew was far worse. Those are Not the norm, and we'll not see those kind every year, despite the naysayers.

[Anonymous]

Charley's Outer Eyewall would have taken hold, and the storm would have done like Hurricane Jeanne did, which is go under an Eyewall Replacement Cycle, but hold it's own. It was 150 mph, 941 mb. It would have held 145-155 mph, 938-943 mb for a few hours, then it would have dropped again just as it came into Tampa, and could have been 165 mph and about 925 mb.

[gatorcane]

Floydbuster I agree....I'm not sure what Derek is thinking. Stormchasr yes monster storms do not happen every year but we haven't had a monster storm in the U.S. in a long time so it would make sense that we are due for one soon.

[StormChasr]

Ivan, Charley, Jeanne???? 3 disaster storms in one year!!!!!!

Ivan was a Cat 5, which weakened before landfall to a nasty 3. Charley was almost a Cat 5, and did imcomparable damage across a very populated area (Orlando to Daytona). Jeanne was a strong 3, and would have been a 5 in another day. I'd call that extremely unusual.

[SouthernWx]

Charley and Andrew were both 100 year storms. Similar, though Andrew was far worse. Those are Not the norm, and we'll not see those kind every year, despite the naysayers.

While I agree they aren't every year events, I take issue with statements they are 1:100 longshots...once a century events.

Here are the KNOWN hurricanes to impact Florida with 125 kt or higher sustained winds since 1845:

Oct 1846 135-140 kt
Sep 1919 130-135 kt
Sep 1926 125-130 kt
Sep 1928 130-135 kt
Sep 1935 160-175 kt
Aug 1992 145-150 kt (Andrew)
Aug 2004 130-135 kt (Charley)

That's seven (7) catastrophic hurricanes in less than 160 years; or a ratio of 1:22, even though hurricane intensity records are sketchy before 1950...there could have well been other small, violent hurricanes either missed or improperly classified as weaker than 125 kt (i.e.- look how long it took for 1992's Andrew to recieve cat-5 status). There's increasing evidence the small but vicious September 1945 Dade county hurricane was possibly in the same mold as Charley (based on extreme damage and a 196 mph measured gust at Homestead AAF/ now AFB).

Also, even though neither the September 1947 hurricane and 1960's Donna meet the 125 kt+ criteria, there's no doubt in my mind their impact on Florida was as/ more catastrophic as Charley. The very large cat-4 1947 hurricane would IMO dwarf the damage toll of either Andrew or Charley....with a destructive core over 100 miles wide affecting seven million Floridians.

I don't expect another hurricane like Andrew and Charley this season....but based on Florida's past hurricane climatology, I expect to witness several more in my lifetime.

PW

[drudd1]

Boy this does bring back memories. I did board my windows, and more than once had things crash into the boards, and thanked my lucky stars we got it done. It was this board and you folks on it that prompted me to take action while Charley was still offcially projected to go up the west coast. Trees came down all around, but we were one of the lucky ones, and had none come down on the house. The neighborhood was a mess, very few roofs made it through without damage, the power grid was a shambles, but everyone was safe, so things worked out just fine. What concerns me is having another Charley type storm enter around Titusville and hit us. Charley even though a rapid mover, had to travel a long way over the state before it smacked us. Had it entered the state via Titusville, we would have suffered far more damage even before the eye made landfall. You gotta respect these storms.

[cajungal]

We are lucky we got a very unusual early cold front. Because if it was not for that cold front, we could of been Charley's target instead of Florida.

[tracyswfla]

WOW brings back awful memories. But since I didn't get to read this during the storm it makes me remember that i need to be ready!

[CentralFlGal]

Ahh, Charley, you were my first hurricane. I was looking up local Charley pics on the 'net and figured I'd share the results.

From S2k's very own recmod (great layout with comprehensive area coverage):
http://www.recmod.com/hurricane/charley/charley4.html

Pics along highways 17 & 70:
http://www.lamartin.com/HurricaneCharley.aspx

More comprehensive pics of this devastating storm:
http://www.2004hurricanes.com/misc-charley-photos.html

Link to Frances, Jeanne & Ivan:
http://www.2004hurricanes.com/

[cajungal]

And Andrew was my first and only true hurricane I experienced. Almost 13 years ago. I wish I had a digital camera back then and could of posted pictures like that!