CHARLEY
MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE NEAR
CHARLOTTE HARBOR, FLA.
Aug. 13,
2004 At 5 p.m. EDT, the center of Hurricane Charley was located near latitude
26.9 north, longitude 82.2 west or about 30 miles west-northwest of Ft.
Myers, Fla. This position is also about 115 miles south-southwest of Orlando.
Charley is moving toward the north-northeast near 22 mph, and a gradual
increase in forward speed is expected Friday night and Saturday. The forecast
track moves Charley across Florida and off the northeast Florida coast overnight,
according to the NOAA National Hurricane
Center in Miami, Fla. (Click NOAA satellite image for larger
view of Hurricane Charley taken at 4:15 p.m. EDT on Aug. 13, 2004, after
making landfall around Cayo Costa, just north of Captiva Island, Fla. Click here for high resolution
version, which is a large file. Please credit NOAA.)
Maximum sustained winds are near 140 mph with higher gusts. Weakening is
forecast during the next 24 hours. However, hurricane force winds are expected
to spread across Florida near the path of the center of the hurricane. At
4:32 p.m. EDT, Punta Gorda, Fla., reported sustained winds of 87 mph with
a gust to 109 mph.
Hurricane
force winds extend outward up to 25 miles from the center, and tropical
storm force winds extend outward up to 85 miles. (Click NOAA satellite
image for larger view of Hurricane Charley making landfall Friday at around
3:45 p.m. EDT at Cayo Costa, Fla., which is just north of Captiva Island.
Click here for high resolution
version, which is a large file. Please credit NOAA.)
The last pressure measured by the hurricane hunter aircraft was 941 mb,
27.79 inches.
Storm surge flooding in the Florida Keys is subsiding. Storm surge flooding
of 10 to 15 feet is occurring near and south of where the center moved inland.
Storm surge flooding of 4 to 7 feet is expected along the northeast Florida
and Georgia coasts with lesser flooding to the north and south.
Rainfall
totals of 4 to 8 inches are likely along Charleys path across portions of
the eastern United States. These rains could cause life-threatening flash
floods. (Click NOAA satellite image for larger view of Hurricane
Charley taken at 3:15 p.m. EDT on Aug. 13, 2004, about a half an hour before
making landfall. Click here
for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit NOAA.)
Isolated tornadoes are possible across portions of the Florida peninsula
Friday night.
A hurricane
warning remains in effect from East Cape Sable northward to the Suwannee
River on the Florida west coast and from Cocoa Beach, Fla., to Cape Lookout,
N.C., on the southeast U.S. coast.

(Click NOAA Key
West, Fla., Doppler weather radar image for larger view of Hurricane Charley
taken at 3:51 p.m. EDT on Aug 13, 2004, minutes after it made landfall.
Click here for high resolution
version, which is a large file. Please credit NOAA.) |

(Click NOAA satellite
image for larger view of Hurricane Charley taken at 4:15 p.m. EDT on Aug.
13, 2004, after making landfall around Cayo Costa, just north of Captiva
Island, Fla. Click here for
high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit NOAA.) |
A tropical
storm warning remains in effect from Jupiter Inlet to Cocoa Beach, Fla.,
and for Lake Okeechobee. (Click NOAA Hurricane Charley tracking
map for larger view.)
At 5 p.m. EDT, a tropical storm watch is in effect from Cape Lookout to
Chincoteague, Va., including Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds and for Chesapeake
By south of Smith Point.
Elsewhere, all watches and warnings are discontinued.
For storm
information specific to your area, please monitor products issued by NOAA National Weather Service
local forecast offices and statements from local emergency management
officials.
NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through
the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing
environmental stewardship of the nations coastal and marine resources.
NOAA is part of the U.S. Department of
Commerce.
Relevant
Web Sites
NOAA National Hurricane Center
Get the latest advisories here
NOAA
Satellite Services Division
Latest Images
NOAA 3-D Satellite Images
NOAA
Enhanced Satellite Images
NOAA Atlantic Hurricanes
Database 150 Years of Atlantic Hurricanes
Above-normal 2004 Atlantic Hurricane Season Predicted
Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Scale
NOAA Flood Products
NOAA
Inland Flooding Information
Significant River Flood Outlook
NOAA Rainfall
Graphics
24-hour
Observed Precipitation as of 8 a.m. today
Latest
rainfall data as of 8 a.m. EDT today
NOAA Buoys
NOAA
Tides Online
NOAA
Satellite Images The latest satellite views
Colorized Satellite Images
NOAA
Hurricanes Page
NOAA
Storm Watch Get the latest severe weather information
across the USA
Media
Contact:
Frank Lepore, NOAA
Hurricane Center, (305) 229-4404 |