Hurricane Gaston (2004)

Basin

North Atlantic

Dates

August 27, 2004 to September 3, 2004

Peak strength

Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)

Lowest pressure

985 mb (29.09 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

2.7

Tropical-storm-force wind reached

240 nmi (444 km, 276 mi) from the center at its widest

Hurricane-force wind reached

10 nmi (19 km, 12 mi) from the center at its widest

Overall size

150 nmi (278 km, 173 mi) to the outermost closed isobar

Peak gust in the best track

75 kt (86 mph)

Fastest the center moved

43 kt (49 mph)

Identifier

AL072004

Radar at KCLX as it neared land, Aug 29, 14:00 UTC

The sources count different things and are not added together.

Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.

NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.

Deaths

0 (0 direct, 0 indirect)

Injuries

0

Property damage

$17 million

Crop damage

none recorded

Events recorded

25 in 10 reports from 5 states and marine areas

State by state

What was recorded

15 flash flood, 10 tropical storm.

The Weather Prediction Center attributes 1,026 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 12.60 inches (320 mm).

WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.

From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.

Heavy rain bands from Tropical Storm Gaston moved across northern Charleston county for several hours dumping an estimated 6 to 10 inches of rain on Sullivan's Island, the Isle of Palms, and Mount Pleasant. Numerous roads were flooded and retention ponds overflowed into streets. Several homes and businesses were flooded.

Charleston, South Carolina · Flash Flood · Aug 29, 11:00 UTC

Heavy rain bands from Tropical Storm Gaston persisted all day causing significant flooding across the county. Radar estimated up to 15 inches of rain fell in the St. Stephen area with much of the rest of the county receiving an estimated 6 to 12 inches of rain. Numerous roads were flooded across the county. Twenty structures sustained major damage or were destroyed by flooding. Dozens of structures sustained minor damage. Numerous evacuations and road closures occurred in the northern part of the county.

Berkeley, South Carolina · Flash Flood · Aug 29, 13:00 UTC

Several trees were blown down countywide as a result of Tropical Depression Gaston. The Gulf Post Office sustained damage when a tree fell on it and damaged a section of the roof and the building's back porch.

Chatham, North Carolina · Tropical Storm · Aug 30, 14:00 UTC

Over a dozen roads had to be closed countywide. Madison Road and Leesburg Road in Roxboro were both flooded. Mill Creek overflowed its banks and flooded both Todd Road and Mill Creek Road just northeast of Roxboro.

Person, North Carolina · Flash Flood · Aug 30, 16:30 UTC

• Hurricane AlexNorth Atlantic · 2004Cat 3105 kt · 957 mb
• Tropical Storm BonnieNorth Atlantic · 2004Tropical Storm55 kt · 1001 mb
• Hurricane CharleyNorth Atlantic · 2004Cat 4130 kt · 941 mb
• Hurricane DanielleNorth Atlantic · 2004Cat 295 kt · 964 mb
• Tropical Storm EarlNorth Atlantic · 2004Tropical Storm45 kt · 1009 mb
• Hurricane FrancesNorth Atlantic · 2004Cat 4125 kt · 935 mb
• Tropical Storm HermineNorth Atlantic · 2004Tropical Storm50 kt · 1002 mb
• Hurricane IvanNorth Atlantic · 2004Cat 5145 kt · 910 mb
• Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2004Tropical Depression30 kt · 1009 mb
• Hurricane JeanneNorth Atlantic · 2004Cat 3105 kt · 950 mb
• Hurricane KarlNorth Atlantic · 2004Cat 4125 kt · 938 mb
• Hurricane LisaNorth Atlantic · 2004Cat 165 kt · 987 mb
• Tropical Storm MatthewNorth Atlantic · 2004Tropical Storm40 kt · 997 mb
• Tropical Storm NicoleNorth Atlantic · 2004Tropical Storm45 kt · 986 mb
• Tropical Storm OttoNorth Atlantic · 2004Tropical Storm45 kt · 995 mb

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.

• Tropical cyclone report, National Hurricane Center
• Every advisory and discussion NHC issued while it was live
• Wikipedia article: Hurricane Gaston