Tropical Storm — Lee, Florida

2004-09-25 to 2004-09-26 · Lee, Florida

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Jeanne followed the nearly the same path across Florida as Hurricane Frances three weeks earlier and was the unprecedented fourth hurricane to damage Florida during the 2004 hurricane season. The hurricane moved ashore along the east coast of Florida near Stuart late on September 25th with an eye 30 to 40 miles across. Jeanne took a course north of Lake Okeechobee and decreased to a tropical storm in easter Polk County around 9 AM EDT on the 26th. The center of Jeanne curved north of Tampa Bay during the afternoon and traveled north along the coastal counties before exiting north through Levy County around 10 PM. In Hillsborough County the observation from the Vandenburg airport recorded a maximum wind gust of 58 knots (67 MPH) from the north at 8:58 AM EST on 09/26/2004. In Pasco County the COMPS Fred Howard Park Coastal Station recorded a wind gust of 66 knots (76 mph) from the northwest at 12:54 PM EST on 09/26/2004. In Hernando County the observation from the Brooksville airport recorded a maximum wind of 54 knots (62 MPH) from the north at 11:26 AM EST on 09/26/2004. In Levy County the observation from Cedar Key recorded a gust to 40 knots (46 MPH) from the northeast at 5 PM EST on 09/26/2004. In Sarasota County the maximum wind recorded at the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport was 55 knots (63 MPH) from the northwest at 10:04 AM EST on 09/26/2004. In Charlotte there was was 1.5 feet of water in downtown Punta Gorda due to a "back door"storm surge of 5.5 ft into Charlotte Harbor. Tarps on roofs from Hurricane Charley were blown off of many roofs during Hurricane Jeanne. The observation from the Punta Gorda Airport recorded a maximum wind of 53 knots (61 MPH) from the west at 7:17 AM EST on 09/26/2004. In Lee County the Big Carlos Pass observation recorded a gust to 49 knots (56 MPH) from the west southwest at 7:42 AM EST on 09/26/2004. The damage total was estimated by doubling the insured losses unless otherwise noted. 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 5422800. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.