Hurricane Charley Races
Across Florida
weather.com - Fri, Aug 13,8:55PM ET
James Wilson, Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel
Major Hurricane Charley ripped ashore north of Fort Myers, Florida
and into the Port Charlotte area with winds of 100 to 127 mph being reported
with storm surge and najor structure and roof damage across coastal western
Florida from Port Charlotte to just north of Fort Myers. The worst of the
damage as been at Captiva on Sanibel Island where reports of 160 homes destroyed
and 160 heavily damaged have come in. At Port Charlotte, there are reports
of roof damage and the airport hangars being heavily damaged. There have
been numerous reports of tornadoes associated with Hurricane Charley as some
of the outer squalls have rapidly preceded the hurricane. This threat will
continue well into the overnight hours. We'll watch for continued destructive
winds and torrential rains with extreme tree, power line and structural damage
along with widespread flooding all along the path of Charley from central
Florida to northeast Florida.
Rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches are likely to soak Florida
all along its path. Most of the Florida Peninsula is already soggy with August
rainfall over the first 12 days 1 to 8 inches above average. Charley will
head toward coastal Georgia overnight and then race into the Carolinas with
a history of gusty winds and blinding rains. Over the weekend, a weakening
Charley will cause flooding up the East Coast as it rapidly zips northward.
East of its track, the threat for tornadoes will be high so be very cautious
until Charley finally passes.
In the central and eastern Atlantic, two tropical depressions
have formed and have the potential for development as the 2004 hurricane
season moves into high gear. Tropical Depression # 5 is of the greatest concern
as it is forecast to approach the Lesser Antilles by late Sunday with watches
and warnings likely. This system will then strengthen quickly into a hurricane
well south of Puerto Rico and will need to be monitored closely by all in
the Caribbean, especially Jamaica and western Cuba again. Stay tuned and
come back frequently for updates.
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