Hurricane Charley moved north from western Cuba, passing directly over Dry Tortugas National Park around 0700 EST on August 13, 2004. During the evening of August 12, a strong convective band moved north through the Florida Straits, the Keys east of the Seven Mile Bridge, and into Florida Bay.
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Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS EYW wrote it up.
Hurricane Charley moved north from western Cuba, passing directly over Dry Tortugas National Park around 0700 EST on August 13, 2004. During the evening of August 12, a strong convective band moved north through the Florida Straits, the Keys east of the Seven Mile Bridge, and into Florida Bay. Peak wind gusts to 56 knots (64 mph) were recorded at Sombrero Key Light, 53 knots (61 mph) at Long Key and 47 knots (54 mph) at Molasses Reef C-MAN stations during this convective band, along with reported wind gust to 45 knots (52 mph) from a spotter on Duck Key. Damage along the island chain from Marathon through Ocean Reef was limited to downed tree limbs, power lines and unreinforced signs, and almost entirely from the convective band. Beginning around 0330 EST, strong gradient winds began in the Lower Keys and Dry Tortugas. Peak wind gusts of 54 knots (62 mph) were recorded at Sand Key C-MAN station, with gusts to 50 knots (58 mph) at Key West International Airport. Peak wind measurements of 40 to 45 knots (46 to 52 mph) were measured along the island chain from Boca Chica Key through Summerland Key. Wind damage including a few uprooted and snapped trees, large tree limbs, power lines, fences and unreinforced signs. A sailboat broke loose from moorings around 0730 EST on August 13, striking a phase of a 115 kilovolt transmission line serving the lower Keys, causing a widespread power outage west of Marathon through Key West.Maximum storm surge was estimated to near 6 feet at Dry Tortugas/Garden Key by National Park Service personnel, who rode out the hurricane at the fort. Wave action produced extensive flooding of the park grounds outside of the Fort Jefferson walls. Approximately 1000 feet of brickwork was lost on the outer moat wall, which was completely submerged at the time of high tide. Numerous finger docks and the deck of the main dock were destroyed. Scaffolding used during the Fort's multi-year renovation project was also damaged and found floating in the moat. The Dry Tortugas C-MAN station, which included instrumentation less than 15 feet above mean sea level, was also destroyed, likely from the combination of wave action and elevated tide levels. Maximum storm surge was estimated at one foot above normal at Key West. Wave action produced minor coastal flooding along the oceanfront. An estimated 11,000 visitors evacuated the Keys, causing an estimated tourism loss of 5.3 million dollars.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 hurricane (typhoon). Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, August 2004The 2004 hurricane season
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5421070, 5421071, 5421072.