Tropical Storm Matthew (2004)
Tropical Storm Matthew peaked at 40 kt in the North Atlantic between October 8, 2004 and October 11, 2004, with a lowest pressure of 997 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Matthew, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2004 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- October 8, 2004 to October 11, 2004
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 40 kt (46 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 997 mb (29.44 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 1.0
- Tropical-storm-force wind reached
- 150 nmi (278 km, 173 mi) from the center at its widest
- Overall size
- 200 nmi (370 km, 230 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
- Peak gust in the best track
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Fastest the center moved
- 18 kt (21 mph)
- Identifier
- AL142004
Deaths and damage
The sources count different things and are not added together.
NOAA Storm Events
0 deaths (0 direct, 0 indirect)$305,000
What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 3 states and marine areas, in the United States only. Property and crop damage as each office estimated it, which is not a national loss total.
Landfall
| Time (UTC) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10, 11:00 | Dulac, LA, 35 km away | 29.2N 91.0W | 35 kt (40 mph) | 999 mb |
Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.
In the United States
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
- $305,000
- Crop damage
- none recorded
- Events recorded
- 39 in 3 reports from 3 states and marine areas
State by state
| State or marine area | Deaths | Injuries | Damage | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 0 | 0 | $255,000 | 31 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | $50,000 | 4 |
| Alabama | 0 | 0 | 4 |
What was recorded
22 tropical storm, 14 storm surge/tide, 2 flash flood, 1 tornado.
Tornadoes and waterspouts
1 tornado recorded in the United States, strongest first.
| Rating | County | State | Time (UTC) | Path | Width | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F0 | Lafourche | Louisiana | Oct 9, 09:48 | 0.1 mi | 20 yd |
Rainfall
The Weather Prediction Center attributes 6,096 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 18.00 inches (457 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| HAYNESVILLE 6S LA | 18.00 in (457 mm) | 0.00N 0.00E |
| RESERVE LA | 16.23 in (412 mm) | 30.09N 90.58W |
| HOMER 3SSW LA | 15.71 in (399 mm) | 32.75N 93.07W |
| GALLIANO LA | 14.28 in (363 mm) | 29.44N 90.30W |
| LSU AG SUGAR CANE/3 NW HOUMA LA | 13.02 in (331 mm) | 29.63N 90.83W |
| ARCADIA LA | 12.67 in (322 mm) | 32.55N 92.92W |
| HOMER 1N LA | 12.60 in (320 mm) | 32.80N 93.07W |
| GRAND ISLE LA | 12.06 in (306 mm) | 29.24N 90.00W |
| THIBODAUX 3 ESE LA | 10.45 in (265 mm) | 29.77N 90.78W |
| KILLIAN LA | 9.55 in (243 mm) | 30.38N 90.55W |
| SALT_POINT LA | 9.55 in (243 mm) | 29.28N 91.30W |
| BIENVILLE LA | 9.53 in (242 mm) | 32.37N 92.94W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 8, 12:00 | 24.0N 95.4W | 30 kt | 1007 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 8, 18:00 | 24.1N 94.2W | 35 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 9, 00:00 | 24.6N 93.7W | 40 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 9, 06:00 | 25.3N 93.2W | 35 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 9, 12:00 | 26.3N 92.8W | 35 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 9, 18:00 | 26.8N 92.0W | 40 kt | 997 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 10, 00:00 | 27.3N 91.4W | 40 kt | 998 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 10, 06:00 | 28.1N 91.2W | 40 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 10, 11:00 landfall | 29.2N 91.0W | 35 kt | 999 mb | Tropical storm |
| Oct 10, 12:00 | 29.4N 90.9W | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 10, 18:00 | 30.4N 90.9W | 25 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Oct 11, 00:00 | 32.0N 91.0W | 25 kt | 1003 mb | Extratropical |
| Oct 11, 06:00 | 33.6N 91.9W | 20 kt | 1005 mb | Extratropical |
Other North Atlantic storms of 2004
- Hurricane AlexNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Tropical Storm BonnieNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Hurricane CharleyNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Hurricane DanielleNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Tropical Storm EarlNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Hurricane FrancesNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Hurricane GastonNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Tropical Storm HermineNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Hurricane IvanNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Hurricane JeanneNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Hurricane KarlNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Hurricane LisaNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Tropical Storm NicoleNorth Atlantic · 2004
- Tropical Storm OttoNorth Atlantic · 2004
What this means
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.
Sources
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.