High Wind — Polk, Florida

2004-08-13 · Polk, Florida

Wider weather episode

The collective effects of Hurricane Charley in southwest and west central Florida during August 13th resulted in 8 direct fatalities, 16 indirect fatalities, 792 injuries, eight tornadoes, an eight foot storm surge in Lee County, an estimated $11.2 billion in property damage (estimated to be about twice that of the insured damage), and $460 million in crop damage. The fast movement of Hurricane Charley limited rain fall totals to 4 to 6 inches along the track of the hurricane's eye wall. River flooding of one to three feet above flood stage was found on area rivers south of Interstate 4. In Hardee County there were 6 injuries, zero fatalities, and damage was estimated at $750 million. A wind gust of 109 mph was recorded in Wauchula. Approximately 1,400 homes were destroyed and 3,600 homes had minor to major damage. The storm knocked out the power to the entire county. Many citrus groves north of Wauchula were severely damaged. In Highlands County there were reports of severely damaged homes in the Sebring and Avon Park areas. A radio tower was blown down near Sebring and numerous trees and power lines were downed in the eastern and northern parts of the county. In Polk County there was one direct fatality and six indirect fatalities. There were six injuries, mostly due to carbon monoxide poisoning from backup generators used after the storm. Half of the county lost power. A 50 foot deep sink hole opened up and swallowed a car on State Road 60 east of Bartow. A wind gust of 64 mph was recorded at the airport in Winter Haven before the instrument stopped working due to a power outage and before the hurricane arrived. A peak gust of 69 knots (79 mph) was recorded in Haines City. The Bartow and Lake Wales area were hit the hardest. In all, 22,994 structures were damaged and 739 were destroyed. Citrus groves around and south of Lake Wales were severely damaged. The damage total listed was estimated by doubling the insured losses. The doubling accounted for uninsured losses and damage to the public infrastructure. Flood damage was included within these totals because it was not possible to extract the flood damage information from the available data.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5417281. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.