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Map of Hurricane Charley's path. Areas within the yellow boundary indicate tropical storm (39 mph or greater) wind gusts. Areas within the light blue boundary indicate hurricane force (74 mph or greater) wind gusts. The thick dark red line indicates the location of heaviest damage, in the eastern semicircle of the 5 mile diameter eye. |
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| Ample warning and well coordinated evacuation plans limited preliminary fatalities to fewer than 20 persons, even though expected dollar damage is the tens of billions of dollars. The vast majority of damage was from wind; rainfall was limited to 3 to 5 inches in a 20 mile radius surrounding the center, and storm surge was limited by the lack of buildup of high seas as the storm raced northward. Charley was the strongest storm to strike Florida since Andrew in 1992, and will rank as one of the worst storms to affect West Central and Southwest Florida. |
| Charley was spawned by a fast moving tropical wave west of the Cape Verde Islands, and initially developed as a tropical storm southeast of the Island of Hispañola on August 10th, then moved west across the northern Caribbean while strengthening to a category 2 hurricane by the 12th. While turning northwest, Charley crossed western Cuba, emerged in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico early on the 13th, then began accelerating to the north. By mid morning, it passed Dry Tortugas, and was on a straight line for Tampa Bay when a slight increase in southwest flow in the high levels of the atmosphere allowed the storm to bear right just after noon. |
| Charley was on a new course, heading straight for Charlotte Harbor. At this point, it had reached category 3 (winds just over 110 mph), but was expected to only intensify slightly until landfall, which was now less than 3 hours away. Unfortunately, and mysteriously, a very rapid intensification occurred just prior to landfall, with the pressure falling 22 mb (0.65 inches)! This intensification, to category 4 (winds over 130 mph), ultimately produced the devastation seen on the barrier islands as well as in the city of Punta Gorda. |
| The center of Charley crossed the barrier islands of Cayo Costa and Gasparilla Island at 345 PM, then moved up Charlotte Harbor before making landfall at Mangrove Point, just southwest of Punta Gorda, at 435 PM. By 530 PM, the center was 5 miles west of Arcadia (Desoto County); at 630 PM, 1 mile west of Wauchula (Hardee County), and at 730 PM, 4 miles west of Lake Wales (Polk County). At approximately 830 PM, Charley had exited West Central Florida, and in 45 minutes slammed into Orlando International Airport. |
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