*Hurricane Charley*

On 9 August 2004, a tropical depression developed south-southeast of Barbados, and approaching Jamaica two days later, became Hurricane Charley, reaching a Category 4 status on 13 August 2004, when it made landfall on the southwest coast of Florida [5]. Landing near Cayo Costa just north of Captiva Island, Charley had maximum sustained winds nearing 150 mph [6]. This is where the hurricane reached peak intensity, and as it traversed across the state of Florida, it left destruction in its wake. Moving into the Atlantic shortly after its initial landfall, Charley re-strengthened and then weakened to a lesser hurricane when it hit South Carolina, lessening still to a tropical storm by the time it reached southeastern North Carolina [5]. Across the state of Florida, maximum rainfall was measured to be just above 5 inches from gauges, although radar-estimated precipitation was as high as 8 inches [7]. In total, Hurricane Charley was responsible for ten deaths in the United States along with twenty-five indirect deaths, and an additional five in Cuba and Jamaica. The total damage across Florida and the Carolinas is estimated to be 6.8 billion dollars in insured losses [5].

The 2004 hurricane season was extraordinary for the state of Florida. Of the 9 hurricanes named in the season, 5 of them made landfall, and 4 of them (Charley, Frances, Jeanne, and Ivan) battered the state [7]. The higher hurricane activity in the time period of 1995–2004 has been attributed to warmer sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic along with reduced wind shear over the deep tropics [7].
