Question about Charley last year.

[jenshops]

What made Charley turn in where it did? It seemed to have taken most people by surprise. I was curious as to what climatology caused that if any. I got a little excited with TD #4 because I live in the SW Fl area, but I think I'm a hurricane deflector. I can't help but get excited because I love storms, but in all seriousness I wouldn't wish one on anybody. I was in the area after Charley hit and it tore my heart to see the devestation and loss.

[DoctorHurricane2003]

A large out-of-season cold front.

[MGC]

Yes, a very strong cold front at that. We set record lows 5 mornings in a row. Never could remember it being in the upper 50's in south Mississippi in August......MGC

[Brent]

MONSTER cold front. It was in the 50's here the morning after Charley crossed Florida. There were all-time August records set.

I remember as Charley was coming up Charlotte Harbor it was unseasonably nice with no clouds in the sky. Never would have known a Cat 4 hurricane was just a few hundred miles to the south.

[HurricaneBill]

I though I read somewhere that friction from land pulled Charley closer to Florida earlier than expected.

[SouthernWx]

What made Charley turn in where it did? It seemed to have taken most people by surprise. I was curious as to what climatology caused that if any. I got a little excited with TD #4 because I live in the SW Fl area, but I think I'm a hurricane deflector. I can't help but get excited because I love storms, but in all seriousness I wouldn't wish one on anybody. I was in the area after Charley hit and it tore my heart to see the devestation and loss.

Charley was a first...the first time a major hurricane had made landfall along the Florida SW coast in August. It went against hurricane climatology 100%; a hurricane track more reminiscent of October than mid-August....and the reason why?

The reason Charley recurved and slammed into SW Florida was the result of an unseasonably strong trough which brought all-time record low temperatures for the month of August. Here in metro Atlanta, the low temp reached 54°...the COOLEST August morning in Atlanta's history.

The overall synoptic weather pattern was behaving like early-mid October, so in response a strengthening hurricane south of Cuba behaved as one normally would in October....a sharp turn up to the north and acceleration toward the NNE, slamming into and crossing the Florida peninsula from Charlotte Harbor to near Daytona Beach. That's one major reason hurricane Charley became so extremely intense....the unusual path from Cuba to Dry Tortugas then into Punta Gorda meant a track across some extremely warm waters near their summertime peak; sst temps between 30-31.5°c (86-90°F).

PW

My 2005 hurricane site
http://community-2.webtv.net/SouthernWx61/Hurricane