Hurricane Charley
- This article is about the 2004 Hurricane Charley. For other storms of the same name, see Hurricane Charley (disambiguation).
Hurricane Charley is the third hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season.
Charley was initially a well-developed tropical wave approaching the Windward Islands. On August 9, this wave had organized enough to be called Tropical Depression Three, while about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Grenada. After crossing the islands into the eastern Caribbean Sea, the depression strengthened enough to be named Tropical Storm Charley on the morning of August 10.
The storm moved rapidly across the Caribbean, and reached hurricane strength on August 11 while 90 miles (150 km) south of Kingston, Jamaica. Hurricane Charley then passed just south of Jamaica, and the next morning passed between Grand Cayman and Little Cayman. On the night of August 12, Charley passed just east of the Isle of Youth, then over mainland Cuba just west of downtown Havana.
As of 1pm EDT (1700 UTC), Hurricane Charley was 70 miles (110 km) south-southwest of Fort Myers, Florida. Charley has sustained winds of 125 mi/h (200 km/h) and is moving north-northeast at 20 mi/h (32 km/h).
Hurricane Charley has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane before striking the United States near Tampa or Fort Myers, Florida on the afternoon of Friday, August 13, with landfall specifically forecast for Charlotte Harbor, Florida. After crossing Florida, Charley is forecast to move just inland along the coast over Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina on August 14.
As of 1:15pm (1715 UTC), Charley was a Category 4 hurricane. A USAF reconnaisance aircraft measured sustained flight-level windspeeds of 162 mi/h (260 km/h), which means an estimated 145 mi/h (230 km/h) windspeed on the surface. A special advisory will follow shortly.
Please note hurricanes are difficult to predict, and can make unexpected changes in direction.
Hurricane warnings are in effect for the Florida Keys from the Dry Tortugas to the Seven Mile Bridge, and for the western Florida coast from East Cape Sable to the Steinhatchee River, including Fort Myers and Tampa. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the rest of the Florida Keys, and another from Jupiter Inlet in Florida to the South Santee River in South Carolina. A hurricane watch is in effect from Flagler Beach, Florida to the Savannah River. A tropical storm watch is in effect for the remainder of the east coast from Ocean Reef on Key Largo to Oregon Inlet in North Carolina.
Mandatory evacuation of non-residents, recreational vehicles, mobile home residents, and special needs residents from the Florida Keys has been ordered. An evacuation order for the coastal areas of Lee County, Florida has also been issued. Pinellas County, Florida, Hillsborough County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, Pasco County, Florida and Sarasota County, Florida have all ordered mandatory evacuations for areas prone to the effects of storm surge.
For official forecasts, see the NHC's public advisory on Hurricane Charley
See also: Hurricane Charley Advisory Archive