Hurricane Charley, August 9-15, 2004

"Hurricane Charley made landfall on the southwest coast of Florida near Cayo Costa, just west of Ft. Myers around 3:45 p.m. EDT on August 13, with maximum sustained surface winds near 150 mph. This made Charley a category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The maximum storm surge associated with Charley was six to seven feet on Sanibel and Estero Islands. This was less than expected due to a number of factors including an increase in the storm's speed, the eyewall shrinking, and the tide receding. Charley then moved north-northeastward causing significant damage across the Florida peninsula from Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Orlando, to Palm Coast (north of Daytona Beach). Charley caused ten direct fatalities in the U.S. and an estimated $14 billion in economic losses. It was a harbinger of things to come, being the first of four hurricanes to affect Florida in August and September of 2004. This assessment evaluates the service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) before and during the landfall of Hurricane Charley and provides recommendations to improve services in the future. It takes into consideration the affected audiences in the media and emergency management communities as well as the public. Service assessments significantly enhance ongoing efforts to improve the quality, timeliness, and value of NWS products and services. Findings of this assessment will further NOAA's goal to serve society's needs for water and weather information"--Preface. "January 2006." Also available online in PDF via the National Weather Service's website and via the NOAA Central Library. 2006 NWS (National Weather Service) Library Public Domain 1931