Hurricane Charley

[Jedi Master Carr]

There is a category 2-3 hurricane moving towards Tampa Bay, it will hit probably tomorrow afternoon or night. Anybody who might live down there if you haven't already please leave. And man Florida has gotten drenched first Tropical Storm Bonnie today (the rement of which is moving through my area tonight) and now Charley this is the first time this has happened to Florida in 96 years.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I hope my grandma gets out. :(

[Jedieb]

It's heading right towards my old hometown. My sister still lives there. I talked to her yesterday but haven't talked to her since the weather has heated up. Ughh.

[Charley]

I'm gonna kill you all

[Morgan Evanar]

Lolllerskates. I hope this doesn't screw up my flight.

[Jedi Master Carr]

LOL Charley yeah I thought about that after I posted myself :p

[Charley]

Part of me hopes everybody is safe and okay, but another part of me hopes that Charley becomes a Cat V 'cane, and goes up and down the peninsula, annihilating everything and everyone, and that people for generations to come speak in hushed and fearful tones about Hurricane Charley, whose power is more terrible than death itself.

(Okay, so maybe 95% the former and 5% the latter but still)

[CMJ]

We'll see how strong Charley is after it crosses Cuba tonight. What exactly is this 96 years bit Carr? Florida gets hit all the time. I believe the state has had the most hits since records were kept in the late 1800's.

[Ryan Pode]

I think two this close together.

[JMK]

All I know is that the weather better clear up by the beginning of September when I head down there! :mad

All kidding aside, I hope everyone does what they need to do to stay safe.

[Morgan Evanar]

^ Hey, where are you headed?

[JMK]

I'll be heading to Georgia to see my parents, but we're going to Panama City for a few days, and while not exactly close to Tampa, it's still close enough to be crappy and rainy.

[CMJ]

Charley held up pretty well after going over Cuba. That land obstacle no doubt delayed strengthening overnight somewhat - since he's relatively the same intensity as he was last night(at least as of 7:10AM Pacific time). The Gulf is really warm though, so we'll see what happens.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Oh I guess I wasn't very clear heh. I mean two storms hitting florida within 36 hours of each other, Bonnie and Charley. This is what CNN said yesterday at least.

[CMJ]

Looking on radar Charley looked like he was getting his act together - and the last advisory from the NHC confirmed this. The storm has been upgraded to a Category 3 with sustained winds estimated at 125mph. For a storm to increase this fast is known what is rapid deepening. Landfall is a few hours away...he might not be done yet.

[CMJ]

The National Hurricane Center has just upgraded Charley to a Categor 4...

I know I've said it in the past, but I'm a hurricane junkie. I even called into the office and came up with a lame as hell excuse to stay home today.

[JMK]

:lol You need to rent Office Space, you're becoming Ron Livingston!

[CMJ]

Whenever a big storm hits I'm like this bro. I almost studied tropical meterology - was this close to going to Florida State to study it. I stayed home in Texas to do film and the rest is history. But Hurricane's are my 3rd love at the very least...maybe #2(over sports).

[JMK]

So does that make Twister your favorite all time movie?

So your passions go like this:

1. Film
2a. Hurricanes
2b. Sports

?

[CMJ]

Originally posted by JMK
So does that make Twister your favorite all time movie?


Hurricanes and tornadoes are not the same thing at all. Not even in the same universe. :p

I am a Perfect Storm fan though. ;) The best hurricane movie ever...has yet to be made. It's my screenplay baby. :D

[Jedi Master Carr]

Heh I think you told me about this isn't it about the Galveston Storm? I saw a thing on the History Channel about that one, that has got to be one of the worse ever, at least casuality wise. About Charley, shoot it looks our Charley is getting his wish :p Seriously this is dangerous, it looks like another Andrew.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

They weren't estimating it to do as much damage as Andrew, last I read.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
Heh I think you told me about this isn't it about the Galveston Storm? I saw a thing on the History Channel about that one, that has got to be one of the worse ever, at least casuality wise. About Charley, shoot it looks our Charley is getting his wish :p Seriously this is dangerous, it looks like another Andrew.

Yes...it's about the Galveston storm in '00. Between 6-10 thousand people were lost(no one is exactly sure). It is by far the deadliest hurricane in US history - and the seventh most intense ever to hit the United States. Terrible, terrible storm.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
They weren't estimating it to do as much damage as Andrew, last I read.

It all depends on where it hits.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Originally posted by CMJ
It all depends on where it hits.
But of course. I was just saying. :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Yeah the thing I saw on the history channel gave me that impression, you need to get that thing made CMJ :) About Charley well the estimates were based on a category 2 or 3 storm now its 4 it will do a lot of damage. It will do more damage than Hugo or Floyd that is for sure. Will it do an Andrew? I don't know Andrew hit Miami and part of Louisiana which is one reason why it did so much damage.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5653487/ I got my information from MSN. :o


If it remains at its current strength, Charley would be the strongest hurricane since category 5 Andrew hit south of Miami in 1992.

Charley was expected to be the worst storm in the Tampa area since a 1921 hurricane. Risk Management Solutions, a provider of catastrophe risk management services, said Charley could cause more than $10 billion in insured losses on its predicted track.

Hurricane Andrew, the costliest hurricane to hit the United States, caused about $25 billion in damage when it passed through the Miami area in August 1992.

[Jedi Master Carr]

10 Billion would make it the second worse storm ever I think. Floyd did close to that as I remember. I am not sure how much Andrew did to Miami, I know that number is counting Louisiana which got beat up pretty bad as I remember.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Hurricane Andrew, the costliest hurricane to hit the United States, caused about $25 billion in damage when it passed through the Miami area in August 1992.
:p

Oh wait, didn't see the last bit of your post. >_<

[CMJ]

The 25 billion figure is total losses - insured was 17. Not saying we should use the 17B figure, but that the 10B for Tampa was low. ALSO...that was based on a Category 3 storm. Category 4's are a whole new ballgame.

It's always wierd to see Andrew listed as a 5. The retroactively upgraded it a few years ago from a Category 4. Even with Andrew on the list there have been a grand total of 3 to hit the USA since records have been kept in the late 1800's.

[Jedi Master Carr]

What are the other 5's? Is the Gavleston one considered a 5? The History Channel called it four, no clue what year that documentary was made though.

[CMJ]

The Category 5's are

Labor Day Hurricane 1935 (hit the Florida Keys)
Camille 1969 (hit Gulfport Mississppi)
Andrew 1992 (Homestead Florida, and Louisianna)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Ok yeah now I remember, I have read about Camille I think that had the second most deaths right?

[CMJ]

Nope..that was Lake Okeechobee in Florida. I found a listing of the most intense storms to hit the US off the National Hurricane center website. I think this is pretty current. Not that alot of the numbers will mean anything to yall so I'll try to explain. The first number is the category is is classified as. The second is pressure in milibars. The third is in inches of mercury. Those are what is used to judge intensity...even more so than windspeed. Some of the storms are classified as hihgher or lower than you'd think becuase of forward motion/windspeeds/etc. It'd take forever to explain.

Currently Charley's lowest recorded pressure is 954 mb. That's pretty dang low. It'd be tied for 41st most intense.

Rank Hurricane Year Category
(at landfall) Minimum
Pressure (mb) Minimum
Pressure (in)
1 Unnamed (FL Keys) 1935 5 892 26.35
2 Camille (MS, SE LA, VA) 1969 5 909 26.84
3 Andrew (SE FL, SE LA) 1992 5a 922 27.23
4 Unnamed (FL Keys, S TX) 1919 4 927 27.37
5 Unnamed (Lake Okeechobee FL) 1928 4 929 27.43
6 Donna (FL, Eastern U.S.) 1960 4 930 27.46
7 Unnamed (Galveston TX) 1900 4 931 27.49
7 Unnamed (Grand Isle LA) 1909 4 931 27.49
7 Unnamed (New Orleans LA) 1915 4 931 27.49
7 Carla (N & Cent. TX) 1961 4 931 27.49
11 Hugo (SC) 1989 4 934 27.58
12 Unnamed (Miami FL, MS, AL, Pensacola FL) 1926 4 935 27.61
13 Hazel (SC, NC) 1954 4b 938 27.70
14 Unnamed (SE FL, SE LA, MS) 1947 4 940 27.76
15 Unnamed (N TX) 1932 4 941 27.79
16 Gloria (Eastern U.S.) 1985 3bc 942 27.82
16 Opal (NW FL, AL) 1995 3c 942 27.82
18 Audrey (SW LA, N TX) 1957 4d 945 27.91
18 Unnamed (Galveston TX) 1915 4d 945 27.91
18 Celia (S TX) 1970 3 945 27.91
18 Allen (S TX) 1980 3 945 27.91
22 Unnamed (New England) 1938 3b 946 27.94
22 Frederic (AL, MS) 1979 3 946 27.94
24 Unnamed (NE U.S.) 1944 3b 947 27.97
24 Unnamed (SC, NC) 1906 3 947 27.97
26 Betsy (SE FL, SE LA) 1965 3 948 27.99
26 Unnamed (SE FL, NW FL) 1929 3 948 27.99
26 Unnamed (SE FL) 1933 3 948 27.99
26 Unnamed (S TX) 1916 3 948 27.99
26 Unnamed (MS, AL) 1916 3 948 27.99
31 Diane (NC) 1955 3 e 949 28.02
31 Unnamed (S TX) 1933 3 949 28.02
33 Beulah (S TX) 1967 3 950 28.05
33 Hilda (Central LA) 1964 3 950 28.05
33 Gracie (SC) 1959 3 950 28.05
33 Unnamed (Central TX) 1942 3 950 28.05
37 Unnamed (SE FL) 1945 3 951 28.08
37 Bret (S TX) 1999 3 951 28.08
39 Unnamed (Tampa Bay FL) 1921 3 952 28.11
39 Carmen (Central LA) 1974 3 952 28.11
41 Edna (New England) 1954 3 b 954 28.17
41 Unnamed (SE FL) 1949 3 954 28.17
41 Fran (NC) 1996 3 954 28.17
44 Eloise (NW FL) 1975 3 955 28.20
44 King (SE FL) 1950 3 955 28.20
44 Unnamed (Central LA) 1926 3 955 28.20
44 Unnamed (SW LA) 1918 3 955 28.20
44 Unnamed (SW FL) 1910 3 955 28.20
49 Unnamed (NC) 1933 3 957 28.26
49 Unnamed (FL Keys) 1909 3 957 28.26
51 Easy (NW FL) 1950 3 958 28.29
51 Unnamed (N TX) 1941 3 958 28.29
51 Unnamed (NW FL) 1917 3 958 28.29
51 Unnamed (N TX) 1909 3 958 28.29
51 Unnamed (MS, AL) 1906 3 958 28.29
56 Elena (MS, AL, NW FL) 1985 3 959 28.32
57 Carol (NE U.S.) 1954 3b 960 28.35
57 Ione (NC) 1955 3 960 28.35
57 Emily (NC) 1993 3 960 28.35
60 Alicia (N TX) 1983 3 962 28.41
60 Connie (NC, VA) 1955 3 962 28.41
60 Unnamed (SW FL, NE FL) 1944 3 962 28.41
60 Unnamed (Central LA) 1934 3 962 28.41
64 Unnamed (SW FL, NE FL) 1948 3 963 28.44
65 Unnamed (NW FL) 1936 3 964 28.47

Addendum (rank is independent of other events in group)
4 David (S of PR) 1979 4 924 27.29
7 Unnamed (San Felipe PR) 1928 4 931 27.49
14 Hugo (USVI, PR) 1989 4 940 27.76
33 Iniki (Kaua'i HI) 1992 Unknown 950 27.91
43 Dot (Kaua'i HI) 1959 Unknown 955 28.11
50 Donna (St. Thomas, PR) 1960 4 958 28.29
64 Iwa (Kaua'i HI) 1982 Unknown 964 28.47
65 Georges (USVI, PR) 1998 3 968 28.59

[Jedi Master Carr]

Thats cool CMJ, it is interesting seeing past storms. I see Floyd isn't listed at all, even though it caused a lot of damage, I guess it just hit the right area.

[CMJ]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
Thats cool CMJ, it is interesting seeing past storms. I see Floyd isn't listed at all, even though it caused a lot of damage, I guess it just hit the right area.

Yep.

Here's a link to the dealiest.

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/deadly/Table2.htm

[Jedi Master Carr]

Cool, Also looks like Charley is going to do major damage since it appears it will go from Ft Myers to Orlando and then go back over open water and may hit NC from the projects from the weather channel. Man this is a bad storm.

[CMJ]

This is a very similar track to Donna in 1960. If it plays out like that at least.

EDIT: The lowest central pressure I saw was 941 mb, which is really, really low. We won't know how bad this is till tommorrow most likely.

[Jedi Master Carr]

This storm looks like it will be remebered as one of the worst. It has devistated Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte and it sounds like we might have a high death toll. Also the thing isn't done yet it is going to hit somewhere around Myrtle Beach South Carolina this morning.

[Marcus Telcontar]

That was all rather unexpected. chris before he left said it didnt look too bad, but obviously it's taken a turn for the worse and turned out much worse than expected.

Unusally, there's no info being broadcast here. Seems like no one on the news services thought it would be a big story

[CMJ]

Hurricane Charley Strikes South Carolina

By MARK LONG
The Associated Press
Saturday, August 14, 2004; 10:49 AM

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - Hurricane Charley flattened oceanfront homes and caused a "significant loss of life" at a mobile home park in Florida, leaving thousands homeless across the state before it roared north and struck the coast of South Carolina early Saturday.

Charley made landfall for a second time as South Carolina's Grand Strand resort region stood nearly empty after a mandatory evacuation of some of the area's 180,000 tourists and residents.

The storm had weakened since Friday, when it was the worst hurricane to hit Florida in a dozen years, causing widespread damage to coastal areas and mobile home parks and knocked out power to an estimated 1.3 million homes and businesses as it crossed from southwest Florida to the Atlantic Coast at Daytona Beach.

"I could hear the nails coming out of the roof. The walls were shaking violently, back and forth, back and forth. It was just the most amazing and terrifying thing," said Anne Correia, who spent two hours in a closet in her Punta Gorda apartment.

In addition to the hard-hit mobile home park, Wayne Sallade, Charlotte County's director of emergency management, said there were confirmed deaths in at least three other areas in the county, but an exact number was unavailable, and might not be for days.

There were five confirmed storm-related deaths elsewhere in the state. Earlier, Charley killed three people in Cuba and one in Jamaica, and tornados spun off by Tropical Storm Bonnie killed three people in North Carolina.

The federal government was sending a 25-member mortuary team to help process bodies.

Hundreds of people were unaccounted for in Charlotte County, which includes Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, and thousands were homeless, Sallade said. He compared the devastation with 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which was directly blamed for the deaths of 26 people, most in South Florida. Extensive damage was also reported on exclusive Captiva Island, a narrow strip of sand west of Fort Myers.

"It's Andrew all over again," he said. "We believe there's significant loss of life."

There are 31 mobile home parks in the county that suffered major damage, some with more than 1,000 units, said Bob Carpenter, a Charlotte County Sheriff's Office spokesman. He said teams were sent to each park to search for bodies and survivors, but getting into them was difficult.

"We just couldn't get the vehicles in - there is so much debris," he said.

Rescuing people who may be trapped is the top priority, said state emergency management director Craig Fugate.

"If we're going to change the outcome for anybody that's been injured or trapped, we know time is of the essence," he said.

After crossing Florida and moving back over open water east of Georgia, the slightly weakened Charley headed for the coast of the Carolinas on Saturday. South Carolina's Grand Strand - beaches and high-dollar homes and hotels - was nearly empty after a mandatory evacuation order of the area's 180,000 visitors and residents. National Guard troops were on duty in North Carolina, where a mandatory evacuation order was in effect for vulnerable coastal areas hit less than two weeks ago by Hurricane Alex.

More tornadoes were possible, warned Renee Hoffman, spokeswoman for North Carolina's Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. Don't go out, don't drive in these heavy winds and rain," she said.

At 8 a.m. EDT, the center of the storm was in the Atlantic Ocean about 35 miles south-southwest of Charleston, S.C., and moving north-northeast at 28 mph. Forecasters expected Charley to increase in speed. Its maximum sustained wind speed was near 85 mph with higher gusts.

Hurricane warnings were posted from Altamaha Sound, Ga., north to the North Carolina-Virginia state line. From there, a tropical storm warning extended north to Sandy Hook, N.J., and a tropical storm watch covered New York Harbor and Long Island Sound.

President Bush declared a major disaster area in Florida, making federal money available to Charlotte, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota counties. One million customers were reported without power statewide, including all of Hardee County and Punta Gorda.

The Category 4 storm was stronger than expected when the eye reached the mainland at Charlotte Harbor, pummeling the coast with wind reaching 145 mph and a surge of sea water of 13 to 15 feet.

Charley was forecast to spread sustained wind of about 40 mph to 60 mph across inland portions of eastern North Carolina and to dump 3 to 6 inches of rain beginning Saturday morning, forecasters said. Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency.

Three hospitals in Charlotte County sustained significant damage, Sallade said, and officials at Charlotte Regional Medical Center in Punta Gorda said they were evacuating all patients Saturday.

More than 200 ambulances - many from southeast Florida - were organized to transfer patients to other hospitals in Orlando, Sarasota, Tampa and Lee County.

"We really have to get the patients out of here. This place just isn't safe," said Peggy Greene, chief nursing officer. She said windows were blown out, part of the roof was blown off, and there was no power or phone service.

Among those seeking treatment was Marty Rietveld, showered with broken glass when the sliding glass door at his home was smashed by a neighbor's roof that blew off. Rietveld broke his leg, and his future son-in-law suffered a punctured leg artery.

"We are moving," said Rietveld's daughter, Stephanie Rioux. "We are going out of state."

At least 20 patients with storm injuries were reported at a hospital in Fort Myers.

The hurricane rapidly gained strength in the Gulf of Mexico after crossing Cuba and swinging around the Florida Keys as a more moderate Category 2 storm Friday morning. An estimated 1.4 million people evacuated in anticipation of the strongest hurricane to strike Florida since Andrew in 1992.

Charley reached landfall at 3:45 p.m. EDT, when the eye passed over barrier islands off Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, some 110 miles southeast of the Tampa Bay area.

Charley hit the mainland 30 minutes later, with storm surge flooding of 10 to 15 feet, the hurricane center said. Nearly 1 million people live within 30 miles of the landfall.

The state put 5,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen on alert to help deal with the storm, but only 1,300 had been deployed by Friday night, a state emergency management spokeswoman said.

At a nursing center in Port Charlotte, Charley broke windows and ripped off portions of the roof, but none of the more than 100 residents or staff was injured, administrator Joyce Cuffe said.

"The doors were being sucked open," Cuffe said. "A lot of us were holding the doors, trying to keep them shut, using ropes, anything we could to hold the doors shut. There was such a vacuum, our ears and head were hurting."

The fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Danielle, formed Friday but posed no immediate concern to land. The fifth may form as early as Saturday and threaten islands in the southeastern Caribbean Sea.

---

Associated Press writers Mark Long in Fort Myers, Ken Thomas in Key West, Mitch Stacy and Brendan Farrington in Tampa, Vickie Chachere in Sarasota, Mike Branom and Mike Schneider in Orlando and Bruce Smith in Charleston, S.C., contributed to this report.

---

[Ryan Pode]

My sister is an RA at Coastal Carolina (at Myrtle Beach) and they are getting hit right now... while moving in the general student body.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Not a bloody word of this in the Aust media today. I learned more what happened reading CMJ's post

[imported_Firebird1]

Well, at least we heard from my Grandparents who live in the Port Charlotte area.

From watching CNN for the past few days you can see three things.

1) The suprise at the change of direction of the storm
2) The savage strike of the storm
3) The aftermath (15 people dead at the time of writing this)

I'm glad that the only things my Grandparents lost was a pool filter pump, and a screen gazibo.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

My grandmother is also fine. She lives in Largo in the Tampa Bay area, but they ended up not getting hit directly as was originally feared. That, and she's really good about evacuating.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well things are going to get bad again. We got two more storm Tropical storm Gaston, which might become a category 1 Hurricane tomorrow, is threatening South Carolina. It will mostly just bring rain. The more serious strom is Frances which is now a 4 with 135 winds and they think it will get stronger before it hits land because it is days away. Right now it is west of Puerto Rico but might move north of that, who knows where that will be going. When was the last time we had two 4's in the same year? Another note Typhoon Chaba is threatening Japan. Is a Typhoon worse than a Hurricane? Or just another name for one? I have always wondered.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Typoon is geneally just another name - cyclone, Typhoon and Hurricanes are pretty much the same. Hurricanes howeever seem to be just simply bigger, Typhoons and Cyclones smaller. One thing I do know is that cyclones turn the opposite direction to hurricanes.

Typhoons however do tend to be very intense. Cyclones in the Nth aust area tend to be smaller too. Cyclone Tracey, which smashed the living hell out of Darwin Christmas Eve 1974 had wind gusts over 320 kph - and that's all they know becuase the weather station, along with Darwin, were wiped out. Tracey would be a Cat 5 hurricane if it hit the USA.

edit : It appears the correct scientific name for hurricanes and typhoons is Tropical Cyclone.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Wow that is one strong storm.

[CMJ]

The reason Marcus's cyclones turn the opposite direction is because he's in the southern hemisphere. Hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, willy willies, - all the same thing.

I wonder what Typhoon Tracey's central pressure was. From what Marcus said, it seems like a Mitch or Gilbert type of storm. Our National Hurricane Center really studies hurricanes to an almost anal degree. We're the only country that flies airplanes into them to get the most accurate data possible. And we do this for all systems that threaten land in our neck of the woods, be it the USA, Mexico, the Carribean Islands, etc..

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think the name Typhoons just make them sound worse. But it makes sense they are about the same.

[CMJ]

Hmmm - I think Hurricane sounds worse. ;)

I'm not sure what the word typhoon is derived from but Hurricane comes from an Indian word(Hurrikan I believe) that means "evil wind". Christopher Columbus actually weathered more than 1 on his expeditions to the New World. He was the first European to ever write about them. The Natives warned him about an upcoming one(you can see signs hours away if you know what you're looking for) - and he didn't believe the stories. He ended up losing part of his fleet.

[Marcus Telcontar]

I wonder what Typhoon Tracey's central pressure was. From what Marcus said, it seems like a Mitch or Gilbert type of storm

Surprisingly, the lowest known pressure was 950 hectopascals, which isnt that low. The actual storm itself was quite small, gale force winds reaching out 40 km from the eye. The maximum wind speed wasnt expected to be above 200kph, but the winds for some reason not fully known were much higher and consistent than expected. The only estimates I know of was 320kph and given the way the place was wiped out, it's believeable. It dumped 240 mm of rain.

Why Tracey was a good deal worse than a storm for it's size havent been explained, mainly I think because the weather stations were destroyed and no real data survived. Out of 50,000 buildings in Darwin at the time, only 12,000 were left standing. None were left undamaged. It also got Darwin dead on target.

However, why Tracey is remembered is not that it flattened a major city, but it hit Christmas Eve / Christmas, abating only at dawn.

[Jedi Master Carr]

what were the casuality numbers? Just curious.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
what were the casuality numbers? Just curious.


68 dead, 150 serious wounded, who knows how many other injuries. 400 million in damage cost (remember, that's 1974 dollars)

[CMJ]

Man, small incredibly intense storm. Sounds like the Labor Day storm of '35. It was very compact, it's wind field was only a matter of miles as well. But the area of the Florida Keys it hit was demolshed. Hell, it swept a overwater railway and highway into the sea(along with workers that were building it).

It was actually a pretty big scandal that almost brought down several of FDR's advisors(because of unprepredness and most of the workers were Vets of WWI). Long story behind that which I won't go into.