Weather, Storms & Hurricane Blog

First image of severe damage in Punta Gorda, FL just after Hurricane Charley departs. 

The upper air patterns of early summer 2004 slowly become very conductive for tropical cyclone formation from the western Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. Tropical waves traveling westward across the Atlantic, were being fed by deep tropical moisture and warm sea surface temperatures. The wind shear in the upper-levels started to relax during late July and soon the Florida peninsula was going to do some catching up in the hurricane strike zone.

My chase partner Chris Collura, a long time chase friend since 2000, and I were already on the road on August 11, 2004 in the Florida pandhandle awaiting Tropical Storm Bonnie. Bonnie was a weak, convective voided tropical storm that was also wrapping in dry air. She really never developed more than a 50 mph storm. At the same time, there was a little tropical storm developing in the central Caribbean Sea. Chris and I kind of joked around that evening in the local motel room while still awaiting Bonnie, that the last few season’s the storms are being sheared to death. Being hurricane chasers, we do have a passion to view, and encounter the stronger hurricanes and experience such a power that no one can control and can only respect it’s fury and bunker down. If we only knew that we were about to witness a category four monster in the next thirty-six hours, we likely would have not been kidding around as much as we did that evening.

The next thirty-six hours was going to change our hurricane chasing careers, our way of looking at a major hurricane and what its like to go through a contracted 5 mile wide eye hurricane. The next day we met up with fellow hurricane chaser Jason Foster in Lake City, Florida along I-75 as all of us were headed back south to now intercept and document Hurricane Charley. The night before Friday August 13, 2004 we were in Bradenton, Florida trying to find any motel rooms for the night after the long drive back from the panhandle. Nothing was to be found since all the coastal residents were all evacuated and using most of the rooms. After a few hours of using GPS to locate hotels, we finely found a room outside of Sarasota, Florida. We checked in and did some forecasting on the now category two Hurricane Charley.

The next morning we awoke to hurricane charley now cleared of Cuba and in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Charley was moving fast and was a tight compact hurricane. Chris and I viewed radar loops out of Key West as Charley moved into range of the radar site. Chris and I were shocked as the radar presentation of Charley was impressive after crossing Cuba just hours before. This was a little monster with tight banding and a small eye. Well this eye was about to get much smaller and a lot stronger.

Our first target was Bradenton Beach, Florida, we expected Charley to take a sharp turn to the northeast ahead of advancing cold front along the northern Gulf coast. As the morning went on we started to travel south now along US41 as we monitored radar trends of Charley. We noticed Charley looked to be starting the northeast turn a bit early than we first thought. We stopped just outside Sarasota Beach, FL to review the radar a bit closer. Yep sure enough the turn was taking place. Charley now is only maybe two hundred miles off the southwest coast of Florida and we need to get into place fast. We start blasting southward on SR 41 once again and start hearing other chaser on the ham radio. A very good friend hurricane chaser Jim Edds calls out on the radio. He comments on how Charley turning and we all need to get south now or never.

We all come to a stop in a small pretty coastal town called Punta, Gorda. We are stopped at a shopping plaza and discussing the track and where the right front quadrant of the eyewall would pass. (the right front quad is a location hurricane chaser target the most since it has the strongest winds and surge at the time of landfall). We all sit there looking at GPS and road maps, along with radar loops. Jim Edds and I say.. “you know what, its coming right here, we don’t need to move”. That was it, we knew this was going to be ground zero. Then all of a sudden we hear a Hurricane Center update on the ham radio. “ This is a special advisory on Hurricane Charley. Hurricane Charley has now become a strong category four hurricane with winds of 145 mph.” WHAT! We all look at each other and the feeling of rushing sets in. We all split up and head around town scouting locations to setup that we think will hold up the 145 mph winds coming.

Chris and I drive over to the tallest newer looking building in town. it’s the county courthouse and has breeze ways wide enough to fit a car in. So this is where we setup for what was going to be jaw-dropping event for us. Soon Jason Foster catches up and setups up at the same location. Also a news videographer friend of ours pulls up at our location and we all hunker the cars into place while at the same time setup our video gear and grab a fast bite to eat. Jim Edds is down the street setup on foot along the sidewalk that faces US 41 north. Both groups are facing west as the winds start to roar up from the southeast. Chris and Jason stand out in the winds sampling the strength for the last time before all hell breaks loose.

The weather went down hill fast. Debris was already being picked up into the air across the courthouse parking lot. Jason got some last few minutes in standing in the full force winds and nearly gets tripped up by the strong increasing winds.Were now all back in the breeze way near the cars where we can film and view the impressive winds without being directly in them. All of sudden Jason yeah out “WHOA!” A full building roof comes flying up into the air and then crashing down. We all know now its getting serious and this is going to be bad. The winds really start to roar, with that hurricane roar you only hear as the eyewall approaches and when inside the eye. The light becomes darker and the steady wind gusts become continuous roars with crashing of debris all around us. You can feel the pressure falling , and the temperature warming as the eyewall closes in on us.

You know when the inner eyewall with the strongest winds are located is coming, because the continuous roar, becomes a screaming roar with debris crashes, metal sheets, glass,and just about anything flying into building and structures. Here we go! Now, in the worst of the front right side of the eye its becomes a white out of rain and debris that is so loud we can’t hear or speak to each other. We have to scream to the person next to us just to talk. Its scary as hell now as the road becomes so loud and violent that cars are moving in the parking lot, you hear building crashing to the ground and the sound and pressure in your ears takes your breath away. This last for just a few minutes then all of sudden the roar calms extremely fast and the sky clear some and winds go from 145 mph to maybe 15-20 mph. We run out and, wow the buildings that were there just before are now just rubble and debris is everywhere, with alarms and glass breaking sounds still active in the background. We look up and see a very tiny eye clearing and can’t belive what we just witnessed. We gather out thoughts and make sure everyone is ok, before heading out to shoot scenes in the eye while the winds remain low.

Just taking a look to the west you could see black and knew that the ugly backside of the eyewall was fast approaching our location. Sure enough within 4-5 minutes you can hear the violent roar coming from the west and northwest. All the debris that went flying westward is now being picked up and flown back towards our location as the eyewall moves over us once again. Within seconds we go into what we think now is the strongest winds of Charley’s eyewall. The winds go crazy and white out all over again, but this time the winds are northwest and more violent. All the cars in the breeze way are bouncing up and down as debris flies into the hallway. Were all now in our cars shooting out the windows as its to intense to stand and film outside. The winds inside the breeze way were over 100 mph alone and its was like a car wash with extreme high pressure nozzles blasting us like mad. Were having to shout back and forth down the hallway barely understanding each other.

After a good 15-20 minutes the winds start to come down. Large vortex’s are still forming in the front garden entrance of the courthouse. The winds are still too strong to stand out in, and you really wouldn’t with all the free loose debris still moving around. You could really smell the damage and there was a strong odor of wood, fresh cut tree’s, and gas in the air. Were a little worried at this point, because Chris is missing and were not sure where he ended up during the second half of the storm. Shortly after Chris walks up all wind blown saying “ I got caught over on the other side of the building when the backside came through.“ He was ok and we started to move around again as the wind continues to calm down some. The winds relaxed enough that we could walk away from the building to view the damage and shoot what was now a war zone. There was debris everywhere you walked. You had to be careful not to walk on glass or nails laying in piles.

In the distance, we keep hearing car and store alarms screaming and beeping. It was very eerie to hear nothing but alarms for blocks and hanging debris banging into walls and broken windows. You wondered how the people in the surrounding homes did. Now the winds have calmed to a mild 20 mph and the skies are clearing as this small compact hurricanes races northeast away from Punta Gorda. We gather our gear in drive out of the breeze way that really saved our lives from the full wrath of Charley. We make it out onto the main road and there is no driving like normal. There is a lot of breaking, stopping, slowing and moving around tire cutting debris. Power lines and poles hang just over the car and and still swing in the little wind that’s left. We turn onto a side road and we see Jim Edds sitting on the back of his car dripping wet and still wearing his helmet. “Guys that was insane…I almost died…that was the scariest thing I have every done.” Jim’s car was severely damaged when the Bank of America roof fell in pieces on top his car taking out his windows and damaging the paint and body. Jim was fine as he was down the street shooting some of the impressive daytime category four hurricane footage from street level and walked away with a scratch. Jim joined us and we all drove around downtown Punta Gorda in shock of the amount of damage we were seeing. Four story glass building with every window gone and the inside contents blown out on every floor into the parking lot. Gas station, mini shopping malls all gone…Just piles of debris everywhere.

We surveyed the area and started walking on foot around the streets in disbelief of our surroundings. I started shooting video of buildings blown empty, bricks exploded all over the road, and cars with debris through the body and windows. We all kind of ended up on the same street after shooting the first video of Punta Gorda minutes after the winds subsided. It was unreal how it was completely calm now and blue skies were above and not more than forty-five minutes ago we were trying hang on in the strongest winds I have every been in. People of the surrounding homes and business’s started coming out to survey the damage for themselves. They walked around in shock, some calling for other family members. One woman walks up to us wearing wet clothes and asking anyone if she could use their cell phone. She was extremely upset and told us she needed help because her mothers home a few blocks south of our location was not standing anymore and her mother was in the house. While taking with her we noticed a first response rescue truck driving slowly towards us. She then went and flagged them down for help. They picked her up and drove away. We never learned if her mother was ok and never saw her again. We really wished the best for her and her family.

Hurricane Charley was very destructive and deadly hurricane to hit during daylight hours in a long time. The city of Punta Gorda was changed for ever and still is rebuilding today. Charley went on to severely damage the small inland town of Arcadia, Florida. The storm was moving so fast that even 45 miles inland the hurricane was still a impressive major storm. Charley continued northeast up the spin of the state and passed through the city of Orlando producing category one and two damage in and around all the theme parks and resorts. Charley killed ten people in Florida and did 14 billion dollars in damage. This was the scariest storm at the time for myself and my group. It changed a lot of things in the way we chase major hurricanes and how, now we needed to promote in our public presentations that if your going to ride out a major hurricane, do so in a safe building and away from the coastal waters.

My group and I were tired and spent the next several weeks recovering and working on producing the Award winning DVD film “Hurricane Charley Friday The 13, 2004 Punta Gorda, Florida”. We attended several block parties over the coming year in Punta Gorda (video clip Windows Media) promoting our DVD and making donations to the city directly from our sales. We met with many residents and their families, and listened to their stories of riding out impressive Hurricane Charley. We will always remember this chase intercept and the people of Punta Gorda.

Hurricane Charley was just the opener to much more to come during the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. More on the rest of the season in upcoming editions of “Moments in Chasing series” blog posts.