| 2004 Atlantic hurricane season | |
|---|---|
 Season summary map | |
| Seasonal boundaries | |
| First system formed | July 31, 2004 |
| Last system dissipated | December 3, 2004 |
| Strongest storm | |
| Name | Ivan |
| • Maximum winds | 165 mph (270 km/h) (1-minute sustained) |
| • Lowest pressure | 910 mbar (hPa; 26.87 inHg) |
| Seasonal statistics | |
| Total depressions | 16 |
| Total storms | 15 |
| Hurricanes | 9 |
| Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+) | 6 |
| Total fatalities | 3,261 total |
| Total damage | $61.148 billion (2004 USD) |
| Related articles | |
The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season was a very deadly, destructive, and active Atlantic hurricane season, with over 3,200 deaths and more than $61 billion (2004 USD, $95.77 billion 2022 USD) in damage.[nb 1] More than half of the 16 tropical cyclones brushed or struck the United States. Due to the development of a Modoki El Niño – a rare type of El Niño in which unfavorable conditions are produced over the eastern Pacific instead of the Atlantic basin due to warmer sea surface temperatures farther west along the equatorial Pacific – activity was above average. The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30, though the season's last storm, Otto, dissipated on December 3, extending the season beyond its traditional boundaries. The first storm, Alex, developed offshore of the Southeastern United States on July 31, one of the latest dates on record to see the formation of the first system in an Atlantic hurricane season. It brushed the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic, causing one death and $7.5 million (2004 USD) in damage. Several storms caused only minor damage, including tropical storms Bonnie, Earl, Hermine, and Matthew. In addition, hurricanes Danielle, Karl, and Lisa, Tropical Depression Ten, Subtropical Storm Nicole and Tropical Storm Otto had no effect on land while tropical cyclones. The season was the first to exceed 200 units in accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) since 1995, mostly from Hurricane Ivan, which produced the highest ACE out of any storm this season. Ivan generated the second-highest ACE in the Atlantic, only behind the 1899 San Ciriaco Hurricane.
There are four notable storms: Hurricane Charley, that made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS), causing $16 billion in damage in the United States alone. Later in August, Hurricane Frances struck the Bahamas and Florida, causing at least 49 deaths and $10.1 billion in damage. The costliest and most intense storm was Hurricane Ivan. It was a Category 5 hurricane that devastated multiple countries adjacent to the Caribbean, before entering the Gulf of Mexico and causing catastrophic damage on the Gulf Coast of the United States, especially in the states of Alabama and Florida. Throughout the countries it passed through, Ivan caused 129 fatalities and over $26.1 billion in damage. The deadliest storm was Hurricane Jeanne, which caused torrential rainfall in the mountainous areas of Haiti, resulting in mudslides and severe flooding that caused at least 3,000 fatalities. Jeanne also struck Florida, inflicting extensive destruction. Overall, the storm caused at least $7.94 billion in damage and 3,042 deaths, ranking it as one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in history.
Collectively, the storms of this season caused at least 3,261 deaths and about $61.15 billion in damage, making it the costliest Atlantic hurricane season at the time, until surpassed by the following year. As of 2022, it ranks as the fifth costliest Atlantic hurricane season to date. With six hurricanes reaching at least Category 3 intensity, 2004 also had the most major hurricanes since 1996.[nb 2] However, that record would also be surpassed by 2005 and 2020, with seven major hurricanes in those years. In the spring of 2005, four names were retired: Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne. This tied the then-record most names retired with 1955 and 1995,[nb 3] a mark also surpassed in 2005, when five were retired.
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- ^ Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. National Hurricane Center (Report). Miami, Florida: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May 23, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2014.