Hurricane Frances was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm's maximum sustained wind speeds were 145 mph (230 km/h), giving it a strength of Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The eye passed over San Salvador Island and very close to Cat Island in the Bahamas, and its outer bands also affected Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. Hurricane Frances then passed over the central sections of the state of Florida, moved briefly over the Gulf of Mexico, and made a second landfall at the Florida Panhandle.

It affected the central regions of Florida just three weeks after Hurricane Charley, which was the United States's second costliest hurricane with $16 billion in damage. Hurricane Frances then moved northward into Georgia where it weakened to a tropical depression.

Formation and Track

A strong tropical wave developed into a tropical depression late on August 24, 2004. It was then 870 miles (1,400 km) west-southwest of Cape Verde, and about 1,650 miles (2,700 km) east of the Windward Islands. The next day it was upgraded and named Tropical Storm Frances, the eighth Atlantic storm of that name, making Frances (tied with Arlene) the most common name applied to Atlantic storms. The storm was upgraded to a hurricane and named Hurricane Frances on August 26.

Hurricane Frances strengthened rapidly, reaching Category 3 intensity 24 hours later on the 27th and Category 4 the next day. Initially forecast to turn north and potentially threaten Bermuda, conditions changed and Frances's predicted track shifted westward toward the Bahamas. Frances's intensity fluctuated as it traveled west over the next several days, dropping back to a Category 3 storm before re-strengthening.

Over the next several days, Frances passed just north of the Antilles, with only its outer rain bands affecting the British Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic. On the evening of September 1, Frances passed to the north of Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Although Frances did not strike the island directly, hurricane force winds were reported there.

On September 2, Frances struck the Bahamas directly, passing directly over San Salvador Island and very near to Cat Island, and passing over Eleuthera on September 3. Reports from Long Island said that parts of the island remained underwater after the storm had passed, with numerous homes and other structures damaged. On Saturday, September 4, the airport at Freeport, Grand Bahama was reported to be under 6 to 8 feet of water. The winds were fierce: as one islander put it, "If you ever see an 80 ft (24 m) tree bend down touch the ground then sway back to an upright position -- you will know there is a God in heaven."

On September 3, Frances weakened slightly as it passed into the vicinity of Abaco Island and directly over Grand Bahama. The storm weakened from Category 3 to Category 2 prior to passing over Grand Bahama and also lessened in forward speed. Parts of South Florida began to be affected by squalls and the outer rain bands of the hurricane at this time. Gusts from 40 mph (60 km/h) to as high as 87 mph (140 km/h) were reported from Jupiter Inlet to Miami.

At 7:26 AM EDT, September 5, 2004, Hurricane Frances was over eastern Florida. According to the National Hurricane Center, at 11:00 AM winds were 92 mph (149 km/h) with gusts to 115 mph (185 km/h), and movement was west-northwest at 9 mph (15 km/h). Hurricane Frances moved very slowly, from 5 to 10 mph (8 to 16 km/h), as it crossed the warm gulf stream between the Bahamas and Florida, leading to fears it could re-strengthen. It remained stable at Category 2, though, and battered the east coast of Florida, especially between Fort Pierce and West Palm Beach, for most of the day September 4.

At 11pm, the western edge of Frances's eyewall began moving onshore. Because of Frances's large eye of roughly 80 miles (130 km) and slow motion, the center of circulation remained offshore for several more hours. At 1 am EDT on September 5, the center of the broad eye of Hurricane Frances finally was over Florida, near Sewall's Point, Stuart, Jensen Beach, and Port Salerno, Florida.

Late on September 5, it picked up speed and crossed the Florida Peninsula, emerging over the Gulf of Mexico near Tampa as a tropical storm. After a short trip over water, Frances again struck land near St. Marks, Florida. Hurricane Frances headed inland, weakening to a tropical depression and causing heavy rainfall over the southern US.

Tropical Depression Frances continued north, maintaining its circulation longer than expected. US forecasters continued issuing advisories on the remnants of Frances until the system crossed the Canadian border into Quebec, where up to 8 inches (200 mm) of rain fell, causing significant flooding.

Aftermath

One death in the Bahamas, one in Ohio, and five in Florida were directly attributed to the storm. 42 more deaths - 32 in Florida, eight in Georgia, one in the Bahamas and one in Ohio, are indirectly attributed to Hurricane Frances. Hurricane Frances spawned 117 tornados from Florida to as far north as Virginia. This establishes a new record, beating the number of tornados (115) spawned by Hurricane Beulah in 1967.

Power outages affected up to six million people. Over 20 airports closed during the storm. Theme parks in Orlando closed Sunday - marking only the third time Walt Disney World closed for a hurricane, but the second time in a month.

The economic effect was felt early, as the storm struck during Labor Day weekend, traditionally the final summer vacation weekend in the United States. Many hotel reservations from South Carolina to Florida were cancelled as people, seeing the destruction caused weeks earlier by Hurricane Charley, decided to avoid the coastal areas entirely.

Hurricane Frances caused $10 billion in damage, making it the fourth costliest hurricane in U.S. history, ranking behind Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Ivan, and Hurricane Charley.