Hurricane Charley (2004)

Track map, landfall & timeline · Atlantic · August 9–15, 2004

Peak wind

150 mph

241 km/h · Aug 13

Peak category

Cat 4

Saffir–Simpson

Lowest pressure

941 mb

Landfalls

Florida · Artemisa, Cuba

Lifetime

6.0 d

Aug 9 – Aug 15

Distance

3,304 mi

5,316 km

ACE

10.6

storm energy

TD TS Cat 1 2 3 4 5 · dashed = post-tropical / remnant low. During the replay the shaded rings show the storm’s wind field as analysed by NHC — 39+, 58+ and 74+ mph winds, quadrant by quadrant. Click any point or table row to jump there.

01 · The story

What happened with Charley

Hurricane Charley (2004) was a Category 4 hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic season. It formed on August 9, 2004, 121 mi SSE of Bridgetown, Barbados, reached its peak of 150 mph (241 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 941 mb on August 13, 2004, and made landfall 5 times — first near Güira de Melena, Artemisa, Cuba on August 13, 2004 as a Category 3 hurricane (121 mph). Later landfalls: 16 mi W of Cape Coral, Florida on August 13, 2004 as a Category 4 hurricane (150 mph); near Punta Gorda Isles, Florida on August 13, 2004 as a Category 4 hurricane (144 mph); 30 mi ENE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on August 14, 2004 as a Category 1 hurricane (81 mph); and more. It rapidly intensified by 40 mph in 24 hours (to 144 mph on August 13, 2004). The storm lasted 6.0 days and travelled about 3,304 miles (5,316 km).

02 · Intensity

Wind and pressure, hour by hour

Maximum sustained wind (mph) — hover or drag to scrub the map

03 · Impact

Landfalls and cities in the path

Landfall (UTC)	Where	Strength	Pressure
August 13, 2004 · 05:00 UTC	near Güira de Melena, Artemisa, Cuba	Cat 3 121 mph	966 mb
August 13, 2004 · 20:00 UTC	16 mi W of Cape Coral, Florida	Cat 4 150 mph	941 mb
August 13, 2004 · 21:00 UTC	near Punta Gorda Isles, Florida	Cat 4 144 mph	942 mb
August 14, 2004 · 14:00 UTC	30 mi ENE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina	Cat 1 81 mph	992 mb
August 14, 2004 · 16:00 UTC	near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	Cat 1 75 mph	997 mb

Closest approach to major cities

City	Distance to center	When (UTC)	Storm strength then
Havana, Havana, Cuba	17 mi	Aug 13 · 06:00 UTC	Cat 3 121 mph
Tampa, Florida	46 mi	Aug 13 · 23:00 UTC	Cat 2 105 mph
St. Petersburg, Florida	56 mi	Aug 13 · 23:00 UTC	Cat 2 105 mph
Orlando, Florida	direct hit	Aug 14 · 01:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Jacksonville, Florida	54 mi	Aug 14 · 06:00 UTC	Cat 1 86 mph
Virginia Beach, Virginia	direct hit	Aug 15 · 00:00 UTC	TS 46 mph
Norfolk, Virginia	22 mi	Aug 15 · 00:00 UTC	TS 46 mph
Chesapeake, Virginia	21 mi	Aug 15 · 00:00 UTC	TS 46 mph
Brooklyn, New York	74 mi	Aug 15 · 08:00 UTC	TD 38 mph
Queens, New York	71 mi	Aug 15 · 08:00 UTC	TD 38 mph

Distance from the city to the storm’s center, interpolated hourly between official fixes. Damaging winds, surge and rain reach far beyond the center.

04 · Timeline

Every official fix 30 positions

Date · UTC	Status	Wind	Pressure	Position	Nearest place
Aug 9 12:00	TD	35 mph	1010 mb	11.4°N 59.2°W	105 mi E of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago
Aug 9 18:00	TD	35 mph	1009 mb	11.7°N 61.1°W	43 mi NW of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago
Aug 10 00:00	TD	35 mph	1009 mb	12.2°N 63.2°W	92 mi NNE of Pampatar, Venezuela
Aug 10 06:00	TS	40 mph	1007 mb	12.9°N 65.3°W	155 mi NW of Juan Griego, Venezuela
Aug 10 12:00	TS	46 mph	1004 mb	13.8°N 67.6°W	123 mi NNE of Kralendijk, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba
Aug 10 18:00	TS	52 mph	1000 mb	14.9°N 69.8°W	162 mi N of Noord, Aruba
Aug 11 00:00	TS	63 mph	999 mb	15.6°N 71.8°W	168 mi S of Pedernales, Dominican Republic
Aug 11 06:00	TS	63 mph	999 mb	16.0°N 73.7°W	152 mi S of Les Cayes, Haiti
Aug 11 12:00	TS	69 mph	995 mb	16.3°N 75.4°W	149 mi SE of Kingston, Jamaica
Aug 11 18:00	Cat 1	75 mph	993 mb	16.7°N 76.8°W	90 mi S of Kingston, Jamaica
Aug 12 00:00	Cat 1	75 mph	992 mb	17.4°N 78.1°W	59 mi SW of Mandeville, Jamaica
Aug 12 06:00	Cat 1	86 mph	988 mb	18.2°N 79.3°W	63 mi W of Negril, Jamaica
Aug 12 12:00	Cat 1	92 mph	984 mb	19.2°N 80.7°W	32 mi ESE of Frank Sound, Cayman Islands
Aug 12 18:00	Cat 2	104 mph	980 mb	20.5°N 81.6°W	78 mi N of West Bay, Cayman Islands
Aug 13 00:00	Cat 2	104 mph	976 mb	21.7°N 82.2°W	41 mi ESE of Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
Aug 13 05:00	Cat 3 LANDFALL	121 mph	966 mb	22.7°N 82.6°W	near Güira de Melena, Artemisa, Cuba
Aug 13 06:00	Cat 3	121 mph	966 mb	23.0°N 82.6°W	near Bauta, Artemisa, Cuba
Aug 13 12:00	Cat 2	109 mph	969 mb	24.4°N 82.9°W	71 mi W of Key West, Florida
Aug 13 18:00	Cat 4	144 mph	947 mb	26.1°N 82.4°W	42 mi SW of Cape Coral, Florida
Aug 13 20:00	Cat 4 LANDFALL	150 mph	941 mb	26.6°N 82.2°W	16 mi W of Cape Coral, Florida
Aug 13 21:00	Cat 4 LANDFALL	144 mph	942 mb	26.9°N 82.1°W	near Punta Gorda Isles, Florida
Aug 14 00:00	Cat 1	86 mph	970 mb	28.1°N 81.6°W	near Haines City, Florida
Aug 14 06:00	Cat 1	86 mph	993 mb	30.1°N 80.8°W	36 mi ESE of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Aug 14 12:00	Cat 1	75 mph	988 mb	32.3°N 79.7°W	36 mi SSE of Charleston, South Carolina
Aug 14 14:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	81 mph	992 mb	33.0°N 79.4°W	30 mi ENE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Aug 14 16:00	Cat 1 LANDFALL	75 mph	997 mb	33.8°N 78.7°W	near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Aug 14 18:00	TS	69 mph	1000 mb	34.5°N 78.1°W	20 mi NNW of Wilmington, North Carolina
Aug 15 00:00	TS extratropical	46 mph	1012 mb	36.9°N 75.9°W	near Virginia Beach, Virginia
Aug 15 06:00	TS extratropical	40 mph	1014 mb	39.3°N 73.8°W	34 mi E of Atlantic City, New Jersey
Aug 15 12:00	TD extratropical	35 mph	1018 mb	41.2°N 71.1°W	23 mi SSE of Newport, Rhode Island

⬇ Download track data (CSV) · public-domain NOAA best track

Questions

Frequently asked questions

When and where did Charley make landfall?

Charley made landfall 5 times: near Güira de Melena, Artemisa, Cuba on August 13, 2004 at 05:00 UTC, as a Category 3 hurricane with 121 mph winds; 16 mi W of Cape Coral, Florida on August 13, 2004 at 20:00 UTC, as a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds; near Punta Gorda Isles, Florida on August 13, 2004 at 21:00 UTC, as a Category 4 hurricane with 144 mph winds; 30 mi ENE of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on August 14, 2004 at 14:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds; near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on August 14, 2004 at 16:00 UTC, as a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds.

What category was Charley?

At its peak on August 13, 2004, Charley was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 km/h) and a central pressure of 941 mb. At its first landfall it was a Category 3 hurricane.

How long did Charley last?

6.0 days, from August 9, 2004 to August 15, 2004, including 72 hours at hurricane strength (13 as a major hurricane). It travelled about 3,304 miles.

Where can I download the track data for Charley?

The 6-hourly positions, winds, pressure and wind radii are available as CSV on this page (track.csv) — they come from the NOAA National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database and are in the public domain.

Related storms

Keep exploring

Every storm named Charley

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
1980	Hurricane Charley Atlantic	Cat 1 81 mph	—	→
1986	Hurricane Charley Atlantic	Cat 1 81 mph	North Carolina	→
1992	Hurricane Charley Atlantic	Cat 2 109 mph	—	→
1998	Tropical Storm Charley Atlantic	TS 69 mph	Texas	→
2004	Hurricane Charley · this page Atlantic	Cat 4 150 mph	Florida, Artemisa, Cuba

Names are recycled every six years unless a storm is so deadly or costly that the name is retired.

Strongest storms of 2004

Year	Storm	Peak	Landfall
2004	Hurricane Ivan Atlantic	Cat 5 167 mph	Alabama, Texas	→
2004	Hurricane Javier Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 150 mph	Baja California Sur, Mexico	→
2004	Hurricane Frances Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	Bahamas, Florida	→
2004	Hurricane Karl Atlantic	Cat 4 144 mph	—	→
2004	Hurricane Howard Eastern Pacific	Cat 4 138 mph	—	→
2004	Hurricane Alex Atlantic	Cat 3 121 mph	—	→
2004	Hurricane Jeanne Atlantic	Cat 3 121 mph	Florida, Bahamas	→
2004	Hurricane Darby Eastern Pacific	Cat 3 121 mph	—	→

See every 2004 storm on one map →

Background reading: Hurricane Charley on Wikipedia.

← Previous Atlantic stormTropical Storm Bonnie (2004)Next Atlantic storm →Hurricane Danielle (2004)

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