The relatively slow moving Hurricane Frances produced rainfall of 10 to 16 inches along the track of the eyewall in west central Florida. Further south, the counties of Sarasota, DeSoto, Charlotte and Lee all recorded three day rainfall totals mostly between 2 to 4 inches.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 TBW wrote it up.
The relatively slow moving Hurricane Frances produced rainfall of 10 to 16 inches along the track of the eyewall in west central Florida. Further south, the counties of Sarasota, DeSoto, Charlotte and Lee all recorded three day rainfall totals mostly between 2 to 4 inches.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 4, 3:00 AM EST, 3 hours earlier.
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 400 AM EDT SAT SEP 4 2004 ...HURRICANE FRANCES SLOWLY APPROACHING FROM THE SOUTHEAST... .SHORT TERM (TODAY - MON)...TROPICAL STORM WATCH CONTINUES OVER COASTAL AREAS WITH A INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING FOR THE INTERIOR. FRANCES WILL DOMINATE THE SHORT TERM WITH INCREASING WINDS AND RAINFALL. THE FORECAST TRACK AND TIMING OF FRANCES ACROSS THE CWFA HAS BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT AND MOST OF THE FORECAST HAS CHANGED LITTLE. THE BIGGEST ADJUSTMENT WAS TO THE WINDS AND RELATED FIELDS. LOCAL STATEMENTS WILL CONTAIN UPDATED AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OF THE PROGRESS OF FRANCES. .LONG TERM (MON NIGHT - FRI)... SLOW MOVING HURRICANE FRANCES WILL TRACK SLOWLY W-NWWD ACROSS CENTRAL FL THROUGH MONDAY. AS A WEAKENING FRANCES MOVES OUT OF THE AREA MONDAY NIGHT...THE WINDS WILL TAPER OFF BUT A MOIST SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL PUT MOISTURE NORTHWARD CONTINUING FLOODING RAINS. BY TUESDAY... FRANCES WILL BE NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA BUT SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE BANDS OF MOISTURE INTO THE REGION...SO WILL KEEP SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS POPS IN THE FORECAST. WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SHOULD FEATURE IMPROVING CONDITIONS AS HIGH PRESSURE SLOWLY BUILDS IN OVER THE PENINSULA. && .MARINE...INCREASING WINDS TO BE IN SCA STATUS TODAY AND THEN CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS FRANCES MOVES THROUGH && .FIRE WEATHER...DISPERSIONS WILL BE VERY HIGH NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. HOPEFULLY NO BURNS ARE PLANNED. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TPA 86 78 87 77 / 70 70 70 50 FMY 86 75 87 77 / 70 70 50 50 GIF 85 77 86 76 / 80 80 70 50 SRQ 87 78 87 78 / 70 70 50 50 BKV 86 76 86 76 / 70 80 70 70 && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TROPICAL STORM WATCH FOR...CHARLOTTE...CITRUS...DE SOTO... HERNANDO...HILLSBOROUGH...LEE...LEVY...MANATEE...PASCO... PINELLAS...AND SARASOTA COUNTIES. FLOOD WATCH THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING ALL OF FORECAST AREA. INLAND HURRICANE WIND WATCH FOR SUMTER...POLK...HIGHLANDS...AND HARDEE COUNTIES THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY ALL COASTAL WATERS && SHORT TERM...RKR LONG TERM...CP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 510 AM EDT SAT SEP 4 2004 FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-041208- CHARLOTTE-CITRUS-DE SOTO-HARDEE-HERNANDO-HIGHLANDS-HILLSBOROUGH-LEE- LEVY-MANATEE-PASCO-PINELLAS-POLK-SARASOTA-SUMTER- 510 AM EDT SAT SEP 4 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY: HURRICANE FRANCES IS SLOWLY APPROACHING FLORIDAS EAST COAST AND IS FORECAST TO MOVE NORTHWESTWARD ACROSS THE STATE TONIGHT AND SUNDAY AND THEN EXIT OUT OF THE GULF LATE SUNDAY. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR LEE AND CHARLOTTE COUNTIES WITH A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM ALONG THE COAST FROM SARASOTA COUNTY TO LEVY. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL COUNTIES. AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR SUMTER...POLK...HIGHLANDS AND HARDEE COUNTIES. WINDS WILL INCREASE TODAY...REACHING NEAR HURRICANE FORCE OVER THE INTERIOR AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE NEAR THE COAST. BANDS OF SHOWERS WILL BE PASSING ACROSS THE STATE TODAY WITH HEAVY RAIN BEGINNING TO AFFECT SOUTHERN COUNTIES TODAY WITH RAINFALL OF UP TO 8 INCHES EXPECTED...ALTHOUGH THERE MAY BE LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. RESIDENTS CAN EXPECT WIDESPREAD FLOODING. IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS... MINOR TO MODERATE PROPERTY DAMAGE IS POSSIBLE...AND SEVERAL MAIN THOROUGHFARES MAY BE CLOSED. KNOWN INTERSECTIONS WITH POOR DRAINAGE MAY HAVE WATER LEVELS UP TO SEVERAL FEET. SOME SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS WILL SURPASS BANK FULL. LARGER RIVERS WILL RISE. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR WINDS OR 20 KNOTS AND HIGHER AND INCREASING TO TROPICAL STORM FORCE LATER IN THE DAY AND CONTINUING SUNDAY. HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENTS WILL BE UPDATED ON A ROUTINE BASIS AS HURRICANE FRANCES AFFECTS THE AREA AND WILL CONTAIN DETAILED AND UP TO THE MINUTE INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY: HURRICANE FRANCES IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHWESTWARD TONIGHT AND SUNDAY WITH HEAVY RAINFALL SPREADING INTO THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ZONES WITH AMOUNTS IN THE 8 TO 12 INCH RANGE AND ISOLATED AMOUNTS HIGHER. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. && FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TBW (LOWER CASE)
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
A National Weather Service observer three miles southeast of Ellenton recorded 6.16".
A National Weather Service observer three miles north of Lutz recorded 8.71".
A National Weather Service observer five miles east of Tarpon Springs recorded 7.59".
A National Weather Service observer three miles east of Lakeland recorded 8.70".
A National Weather Service observer five miles northwest of Lake Panasoffkee recorded 8.67".
A National Weather Service observer two miles east of Avon Park recorded 6.37".
A National Weather Service observer six miles northeast of Suwannee recorded 15.44" and another observer recorded Yankeetown 11.02".
A National Weather Service observer one mile east of Chassahowitzka recorded 15.81" and another observer six miles north of Hernado recorded 10.55".
A National Weather Service observer one mile south of Gardner recorded 8.57".
A National Weather Service observer in Brooksville recorded 10.82".
A National Weather Service observer three miles north of Thonotosassa recorded 11.07".
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, September 2004
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: 5422729, 5422730, 5422731, 5422732, 5422733, 5422734, 5422896, 5422897, 5422898, 5422899, 5422900.