The 2004 season saw 4 intense hurricanes strike the US state of Florida. These 4 hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne had their names retired. However, there was actually 5 hurricanes that struck the US. Hurricane Gaston made landfall in the US as a hurricane. However, due to the other 4 its landfall has mostly been forgotten about.
On August 26th a frontal boundary moved off the east coast. Convection started to develop at the end of the frontal boundary. A broad area of low pressure began to develop and separate itself from the front. On August 27th the low pressure quickly became organized. Later that night the low was confirmed to be a tropical depression with winds up to 35 mph. The National Hurricane Center forecasted moderate intensification.
On August 28th the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Gaston. Gaston moved erratically due to weak steering currents. The weak steering currents was because Gaston was now between two High Pressure systems. In fact, the newly formed tropical system barely moved. Later that night Gaston's winds shot up to 65 mph and eventually up to 70 mph.
On August 29th, one of the High Pressure systems moved farther eastward which pulled Gaston into South Carolina. At first it was believed Gaston made landfall as a 70 mph tropical storm. But in Post analysis it was determined based on surface data that Gaston strengthened into a hurricane right before landfall. Thus, Gaston made landfall as a 75 mph category 1 hurricane. Gaston then accelerated into North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland before moving back over the Atlantic. On August 30th Gaston was back over the Gulf Stream and regained tropical storm status. On September 1st Gaston became an extra tropical cyclone due to going over cooler waters.
Gaston made landfall in a rural part of South Carolina thus sparing the coastal metro areas. However, Gaston did most of its damage inland. In North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. All the damage was caused by flooding and tornadoes. In parts of South Carolina to Maryland Gaston produced 7-14 inches of rainfall. This lead to historic flooding in some parts of Virginia. Also 19 tornadoes touched down across Virginia and Maryland.
Overall, Gaston caused $130 million in damages with most of that occurring from flooding. 9 people died into the storm mainly due to the flooding.
Gaston's name was not retired due to the low damage total compared to the other hurricanes. While Gaston was not a Charley, Frances, Ivan, or Jeanne it was a historic storm for the state of Virginia and Maryland. The reason being due to the historic floods. Richmond Virginia reported flooding that it had not seen in 20 years.
It should be noted Gaston lead to some political reforms. After the floods from Gaston's some car dealers where not reporting that the cars had not been in a flood. Up to 10,000 cars did not have this report. This lead to consumer complains. A lot of the states in the aftermath passed laws that car dealers had to disclose that the car was in a natural disaster. In addition, Some of the states mainly Virginia and Maryland reformed how they broadcast severe weather alerts including flood alerts.
The 2004 season saw 4 intense hurricanes strike the US state of Florida. These 4 hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne had their names retired. However, there was actually 5 hurricanes that struck the US. Hurricane Gaston made landfall in the US as a hurricane. However, due to the other 4 its landfall has mostly been forgotten about.
On August 26th a frontal boundary moved off the east coast. Convection started to develop at the end of the frontal boundary. A broad area of low pressure began to develop and separate itself from the front. On August 27th the low pressure quickly became organized. Later that night the low was confirmed to be a tropical depression with winds up to 35 mph. The National Hurricane Center forecasted moderate intensification.
On August 28th the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Gaston. Gaston moved erratically due to weak steering currents. The weak steering currents was because Gaston was now between two High Pressure systems. In fact, the newly formed tropical system barely moved. Later that night Gaston's winds shot up to 65 mph and eventually up to 70 mph.
On August 29th, one of the High Pressure systems moved farther eastward which pulled Gaston into South Carolina. At first it was believed Gaston made landfall as a 70 mph tropical storm. But in Post analysis it was determined based on surface data that Gaston strengthened into a hurricane right before landfall. Thus, Gaston made landfall as a 75 mph category 1 hurricane. Gaston then accelerated into North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland before moving back over the Atlantic. On August 30th Gaston was back over the Gulf Stream and regained tropical storm status. On September 1st Gaston became an extra tropical cyclone due to going over cooler waters.
Gaston made landfall in a rural part of South Carolina thus sparing the coastal metro areas. However, Gaston did most of its damage inland. In North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. All the damage was caused by flooding and tornadoes. In parts of South Carolina to Maryland Gaston produced 7-14 inches of rainfall. This lead to historic flooding in some parts of Virginia. Also 19 tornadoes touched down across Virginia and Maryland.
Overall, Gaston caused $130 million in damages with most of that occurring from flooding. 9 people died into the storm mainly due to the flooding.
Gaston's name was not retired due to the low damage total compared to the other hurricanes. While Gaston was not a Charley, Frances, Ivan, or Jeanne it was a historic storm for the state of Virginia and Maryland. The reason being due to the historic floods. Richmond Virginia reported flooding that it had not seen in 20 years.
It should be noted Gaston lead to some political reforms. After the floods from Gaston's some car dealers where not reporting that the cars had not been in a flood. Up to 10,000 cars did not have this report. This lead to consumer complains. A lot of the states in the aftermath passed laws that car dealers had to disclose that the car was in a natural disaster. In addition, Some of the states mainly Virginia and Maryland reformed how they broadcast severe weather alerts including flood alerts.
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