Florida, 2004

Storm Surge in Florida, September 6, 2004

September 6, 2004 · NWS TBW · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Tropical storm force winds from the southwest produced tides one to five feet above normal from New Port Richey south to Punta Gorda as Hurricane Frances moved northwest just north of downtown Tampa. One foot of water was found in downtown Punta Gorda as tides in Charlotte Harbor reached five feet above normal.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2.5 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS TBW wrote it up.

Tropical storm force winds from the southwest produced tides one to five feet above normal from New Port Richey south to Punta Gorda as Hurricane Frances moved northwest just north of downtown Tampa. One foot of water was found in downtown Punta Gorda as tides in Charlotte Harbor reached five feet above normal. Tides were two to three feet above normal elsewhere and produced moderate beach erosion from Venice to Clearwater and flooding low lying homes near downtown Saint Petersburg.

What forecasters said that day

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 6, 1:10 AM EST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 6, 1:10 AM EST, 50 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 5, 4:21 AM EST, 21 hours 39 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
521 AM EDT SUN SEP 5 2004

FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-051218-
CHARLOTTE-CITRUS-DE SOTO-HARDEE-HERNANDO-HIGHLANDS-HILLSBOROUGH-LEE-
LEVY-MANATEE-PASCO-PINELLAS-POLK-SARASOTA-SUMTER-
521 AM EDT SUN SEP 5 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
FLORIDA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

...HURRICANE FRANCES CONTINUES TO MOVE INLAND...

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING CONTINUES OVER COASTAL COUNTIES AND THE
COASTAL WATERS WITH AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING FOR INTERIOR
COUNTIES. A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF THE AREA.

TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS OF 35 TO 50 MPH...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER
GUSTS...CAN BE EXPECTED OVER WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
TODAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE CLOSEST TO THE TRACK OVER
INLAND COUNTIES THIS MORNING...WHEN HURRICANE FORCE SUSTAINED WINDS
OR WIND GUSTS WILL BE POSSIBLE.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE 6 TO 12 INCHES NORTH AND EAST OF
FRANCES AND 3 TO 6 INCHES ON THE SOUTH AND WEST SIDES OF FRANCES.
HOWEVER...LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS WILL LIKELY OCCUR. MODERATE TO MAJOR
FLOODING MAY DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA TODAY...WITH
MOST RIVERS AND STREAMS RISING OUT OF THEIR BANKS. RESIDENTS LIVING
ALONG STREAMS...CREEKS...AND RIVERS ACROSS THE REGION SHOULD BE
PREPARED FOR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING AND TAKE ACTIONS TO PROTECT
PROPERTY.

DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY:

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY WILL DECREASE
TUESDAY TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AND CONTINUE
THROUGH THE WEEK WITH MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING TIMING.

&&

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TBW (LOWER CASE)

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO RELAY REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
OFFICE IN RUSKIN. WE THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.

09

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 5, 8:13 PM EST, 5 hours 47 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Sep 5, 11:18 PM EST, 2 hours 42 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Sep 6, 12:13 AM EST, 1 hour 47 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 storm surge/tide. Local standard time, as filed.

Storm Surge/Tide, Charlotte

When
September 6, 2:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where
Charlotte forecast zone
Property damage
$2.0 million
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER

Storm Surge/Tide, Hillsborough

When
September 6, 2:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where
Hillsborough forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER

Storm Surge/Tide, Manatee

When
September 6, 2:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where
Manatee forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER

Storm Surge/Tide, Pasco

When
September 6, 2:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where
Pasco forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER

Storm Surge/Tide, Pinellas

When
September 6, 2:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where
Pinellas forecast zone
Property damage
$500,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
27.903, -82.739 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Storm Surge/Tide
Water pushed ashore above the normal tide by a storm’s winds and low pressure.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Florida in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, September 2004The 2004 hurricane season

Sources

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5427713, 5427714, 5427715, 5427716, 5427717.