Tropical Storm — Manatee, Florida

2004-09-05 to 2004-09-06 · Manatee, Florida

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Frances made landfall just after midnight on September 5th near Vero Beach as a Category 2 storm. The hurricane continued to move slowly west northwestward across central Florida to near Bartow by 2 pm, and just northeast of Tampa by 8 pm, when it was downgraded to a tropical storm. It then emerged back into the Gulf of Mexico near Hudson shortly before midnight. Hurricane Frances took almost 24 hours to move through the Florida peninsula. Frances continued northwestward through the northern gulf of Mexico, making a second landfall on the afternoon of September 6th in the Florida big bend near Tallahassee as a tropical storm. In Lee County the observation at Big Carlos Pass recorded a gust to 51 knots (59 MPH) from the west at 12:18 AM EST on 09/05/2004. One direct death was reported when an elderly man was blown over by a wind gust while walking his dog 10 feet outside of his home. He hit his head on the sidewalk and died from blunt force trauma. Fourteen homes were destroyed by the wind. In Sarasota and Manatee Counties the maximum wind recorded at the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport was 46 knots (53 MPH) from the northwest at 12:07 PM EST on 09/05/2004. In Charlotte County there was was a foot of water in Downtown Punta Gorda due to a "back door"storm surge of 5 ft into Charlotte Harbor. Tarps on roofs from Hurricane Charley were blown off of many roofs during Hurricane Frances. The observation from the Punta Gorda Airport recorded a maximum wind of 50 knots (58 MPH) from the southwest at 12:21 AM on 09/06/2004. In Hillsborough County most of the damage was a result of trees falling on homes, businesses, and power lines. Debris removal alone was $24 million (not included in damage estimate above). The observation from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge recorded 55 knots (63 MPH) from the north at 9:18 AM EST on 09/05/2004. Two indirect deaths were reported; one was a man who hit a pole while driving in the rain, the other was a Utility Repair Supervisor who was hit by a falling branch while removing tree debris. In Pasco County there was major damage to 114 homes, minor damage to 782 homes, and 459 reports of flood damage. The observation from Anclote Key recorded a wind gust of 61 knots (70 mph) from the north late on the 09/04/2004. In Hernando County there were numerous reports of flooded streets and homes. Other reports included trees on homes, shingles off roofs, mobile home and fascia damage, and pool enclosures with moderate damage. The observation from the Brooksville airport recorded a maximum wind of 47 knots (54 MPH) from the north at 1:02 PM EST on 09/05/2004. In Citrus County a wind instrument at the Crystal River Power Plant recorded a gust to 45 knots (52 MPH) around 4 PM EST on 09/06/2004. In Levy County the observation at Cedar Key recorded a gust to 51 knots (59 MPH) from the south at 2 PM EST on 09/06/2004. The damage total listed was estimated by doubling the insured losses unless otherwise noted. The doubling accounted for uninsured losses and damge 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 5422748. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.