Hurricane Frances (2004)

Frances crossed the Bahamas and made landfall on the southern end of Hutchinson Island, Florida, near 12:30 a.m. EDT on September 5, 2004, as a Category 2 hurricane with 90-knot (104 mph) winds.¹ It crossed the peninsula slowly, reached the Gulf near New Port Richey as a tropical storm, and came ashore a second time near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend at about 2 p.m. EDT on September 6.¹

The highest measured storm surge was 5.89 feet at the St. Lucie Lock, and NWS Melbourne estimated surge of 8 feet near Vero Beach and 6 feet around Cocoa Beach.^1,2 On the Gulf side, a 6-foot storm tide was estimated in Pinellas County.¹ A research tower at Fort Pierce recorded a 94-knot (108 mph) gust.^1,2 Rain topped 10 inches over much of the central and northern peninsula, with 15.84 inches at High Springs, and rain from Charley and Frances together flooded 100 homes in DeLand, Deltona and Oak Hill.^1,2 Frances produced 101 tornadoes from Florida to Virginia, 23 of them in Florida.¹

NWS Melbourne's report lists 478 commercial properties, 19,958 single-family properties and 4,800 mobile homes damaged in Volusia County.² St. Lucie County's first estimate was $2.5 billion in public and private damage, and Indian River County emergency management expected damage near $1 billion.² Space and military facilities around Cape Canaveral reported more than $100 million in property damage.¹ NHC counts six direct deaths in the United States, five in Florida and one in Ohio, and puts U.S. damage at $9.507 billion.¹