This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (SNN TV) – Today marks the 19th anniversary of Hurricane Charley.
The Category 4 hurricane made landfall August 13, 2004 at Mangrove Point, just southwest of Punta Gorda with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. It was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. It was a Category 2 hurricane by the time it reached Orlando International.
The storm caused at least 27 deaths in Florida — 4 of those in Charlotte County and 1 in DeSoto. More than 2 million people were without power. Because Charley had a small wind field, hurricane winds were confined to Charlotte, DeSoto, and Hardee counties, with some in the North Port area in Sarasota County getting Cat 1 hurricane winds.
