Charley's 145-mph winds cut a devastating path across state
Two new tropical systems churn across Atlantic
Charley came and went quickly, but the aftermath will linger for quite some time. People here in the Miami area are feeling pretty fortunate, mostly because just a couple hours to the west, thing look a whole lot different. Charlotte County on Florida's Gulf Coast was hit with a Category 4 hurricane, and Punta Gorda took a direct hit. Here, we got...well, some wind and not much else.
Two million Floridians are without power this morning, and the damage is so severe that there is at this tim no estimate of when power may be fully restored. At least three people are known to have died in what is Florida's most devastating hurricane since Andrew in August, 1992.
PUNTA GORDA -- Hurricane Charley gut-punched Gulf Coast towns with 145-mph winds and a devastating storm surge, then chewed up the homes and businesses of thousands of people as it sliced its way through the orchards and amusement park playgrounds of Orlando on Friday night heading for Daytona Beach and more nourishment in the Atlantic Ocean.
"This is the nightmare scenario that we've been talking about for years," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County....
By 11 p.m. Friday, Charley had charged through Orlando with 105-mph gusts and a deluge of rain and was 10 miles southwest of Daytona Beach, hurtling forward at 25 mph. Hurricane warnings were posted all the way up to the North Carolina coast.
The forecast for the Miami area had been for tornadoes and 3-5 inches of rain. By and large, there was no rain and no reports of tornadoes. To say that we should all be feeling fortunate would be something of an understatement. If Charley had hit Miami, the devastation and loss of life could have been horrendous. Clearly, this is a case of one's good fortune being another's misfortune.
Of course, if you live in the eastern Carolinas this morning, Charley is still a Category 1 hurricane, and it is headed your way. Good luck.
Here in South Florida, our attention now turns to Tropical Depression #5. It's a few days away, and it's too early to predict exactly where it is headed, but no one wants to see another storm come rolling through these parts on the heels of Charley.
Welcome to hurricane season in Florida....
