Hurricane Analysis

November 4, 2004

Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley both hit Florida. Bonnie for the most part brought beneficial moisture as the state was trending dry. Hurricane Charley slammed into southwestern Florida on Friday, August 13, the eye crossing the shoreline near Port Charlotte, at about 5:00 PM EDT. By morning August 14, Charley had beaten a destructive swath diagonally across the state, exiting at Daytona Beach. 

Hurricane Frances made landfall at the Martin and St. Lucie County border at 1 AM on September 5, 2004 with sustained winds at 105 mph. Hurricane force wind made landfall from Ft. Lauderdale in the south to Titusville in the north. Hurricane-force winds of 75 mph reached as far west as Lakeland, in Polk County. Besides winds, the extended damage from Frances was from very heavy rainfall. After leaving the peninsula at Pasco County, Tropical Storm Frances then re-entered the Panhandle of Florida at Wakulla County and tracked north into Georgia and the Carolinas, bringing very heavy rain.

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For more information, contact Carl Gernazio
with the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division, at (202) 690-0136.