Hurricane Frances, 2004

Hurricane Frances was the second of four Atlantic hurricanes to affect the U.S. state of Florida during the 2004 season. A deadly and destructive tropical cyclone, Frances also struck the Bahamas and other portions of the Southeastern United States. A Cape Verde hurricane, it formed on August 25 from a tropical wave in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Within 18 hours of developing, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Frances, the sixth named storm of the season. By late the next day, Frances attained hurricane status, and it strengthened further to a major hurricane by August 27. On the following day, Frances became a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, attaining maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 km/h). At the time, the hurricane was passing about 135 mi (215 km) north of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The hurricane slowed and weakened dramatically as it moved across the Bahamas, striking several islands. Wind gusts reached 120 mph (193 km/h) on San Salvador Island. Across the archipelago, Frances left about US$125 million in damage, with 6,682 homes damaged to some degree. Two people died in the Bahamas, one related to drowning and the other due to electrocution. Parts of Grand Bahama remained without power by the time Hurricane Jeanne struck the island in late September. The two hurricanes produced more than $550 million in damage and economic losses, equating to about 10% of the country's gross domestic product. On September 27, Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie declared a state of emergency. Ahead of Frances's landfall in Florida, about 2.8 million people were under evacuation orders across 41 counties. It was the state's largest evacuation at the time. On September 5, Frances moved ashore Hutchinson Island in Florida as a Category 2 hurricane. It produced wind gusts of 108 mph (174 km/h) in Fort Pierce. Frances was the second hurricane of the season to hit the state, just three weeks after Hurricane Charley. Statewide damage totaled over $5 billion, with at least 73,000 homes damaged. Across the state, 4.2 million people lost power, with outages as far west as the Florida panhandle. After moving through central Florida, Frances made a second, weaker landfall along the Florida panhandle. The storm later moved through the southeastern United States, producing one of the United States' largest tornado outbreaks related to a tropical cyclone. With a frontal boundary moving northward ahead of the storm, the plentiful moisture and wind shear produced intense thunderstorms in Frances's rainbands, leading to 103 tornadoes from Florida to Maryland. The strongest was rated F3 on the Fujita scale, which touched down near Camden, South Carolina, destroying several buildings. It was one of 45 tornadoes in the state, setting a new daily tornado record previously held by 1994's Tropical Storm Beryl. Frances also produced widespread rainfall, peaking at 23.57 in (599 mm) on Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. The total included 16.50 in (419 mm) recorded on September 8. The rains caused river flooding and landslides and damaged 11,107 homes in North Carolina. The combination of winds and rains caused widespread power outages and road closures. Across the United States, Frances led to 48 fatalities, of whom six died due to the hurricane's direct impacts. Nationwide damage totaled $9.507 billion, most of it in Florida. Frances transitioned into an extratropical cyclone as it moved across the northeastern United States, producing additional flooding damage across eastern Canada. The remnants of Frances dissipated over the Gulf of St. Lawrence on September 10.