Fifteen years ago, destructive Hurricane Charley made landfall as a powerful Category 4 hurricane along the Florida Gulf coastline on Aug. 13, 2004.
Charley was the first in a series of storms that hit the Florida coast in the 2004 season. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski described the year as a “nightmare” for the state in terms of tropical storms.
The storm began in the Caribbean and moved northward toward Cuba. The initial thought was that it would weaken over Cuba, but it instead tracked west, Kottlowski said.
