The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season was notable as one of the deadliest and most costly Atlantic hurricane seasons on record. It officially began on June 1, 2004, and ended on November 30, although storm activity continued into December. This timeline documents tropical cyclone formations, strengthening, weakening, landfalls, extratropical transitions, as well as dissipations. The timeline includes information which was not operationally released, meaning that information from post-storm reviews by the National Hurricane Center, such as information on a storm that was not operationally warned upon, has been included.
This season had 16 tropical depressions, of which, 15 became named storms. Of these, 9 strengthened into hurricanes with 6 intensifying into major hurricanes.[nb 1] The most noteworthy storms for the season were the five named storms that made landfall in the U.S. states of Florida and Alabama, three of them with at least 115 mph (185 km/h) sustained winds (major hurricane strength): Tropical Storm Bonnie, Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne. This is the only time in recorded history that four hurricanes affected the U.S. State of Florida although one of the four, Ivan, brought hurricane-force winds to the state without making a landfall there.[2]
2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) – Tropical Depression Two degenerates into a tropical wave in the eastern Caribbean Sea.[4]
8 p.m. EDT (0000 UTC, August 5) – Hurricane Alex reaches Category 3 strength. The storm is centered 445 miles (715 km) southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the second furthest north a hurricane has reached this strength.[3]
August 6
8 a.m. AST (1200 UTC) – Hurricane Alex weakens into a tropical storm.[3]
7 a.m. CDT (1200 UTC) – Tropical Depression Two regenerates in the Yucatán Channel.[4]
2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) – Tropical Storm Bonnie weakens into a tropical depression.[4]
August 13
12:30 a.m. EDT (0430 UTC) – Hurricane Charley makes its first landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph (190 km/h) winds, but weakening back down to Category 2 as it leaves the island just west of Havana.[5]
8 a.m. AST (1200 UTC) – Tropical Depression Four forms 240 miles (390 km) south-southeast of Cape Verde.[6]
2 p.m. AST (1800 UTC) – Tropical Depression Five forms 1,150 miles (1,850 km) east of the Windward Islands.[7]
3:45 p.m. EDT (1945 UTC) – Hurricane Charley makes its second landfall just West of Fort Myers, Florida with 150 mph (240 km/h) winds.[5]
4:45 p.m. EDT (2045 UTC) – Hurricane Charley makes its third landfall at Punta Gorda, Florida with 145 mph (233 km/h) winds.[5]
8 p.m. EDT (0000 UTC, August 14) – Tropical Depression Bonnie degenerates into a remnant low.[4]
8 p.m. AST (0000 UTC, August 14) – Tropical Depression Four strengthens into Tropical Storm Danielle.[6]
10:30 p.m. EDT (0130 UTC, August 14) – Hurricane Charley crosses central Florida, passing near Orlando.[5]
11:30 p.m. EDT (0330 UTC, August 14) – Hurricane Charley exits Florida near Daytona Beach.[5]
August 14
10 a.m. EDT (1400 UTC) – Hurricane Charley makes a fourth landfall near Cape Romain, South Carolina with 80 mph (129 km/h) winds and moves back offshore.[5]
2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) – Hurricane Frances weakens into a tropical storm.[8]
8 p.m. EDT (0000 UTC, September 6) – Hurricane Ivan reaches Category 4 strength.[11]
approximately 11 p.m. EDT (0300 UTC, September 6) – Tropical Storm Frances emerges over the Gulf of Mexico.[8]
September 6
2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC) – Tropical Storm Frances makes its second landfall near St. Marks, Florida with 65 mph (105 km/h) winds.[8]
September 7
2 a.m. EDT (0600 UTC) – Tropical Storm Frances weakens into a tropical depression.[8]
5 a.m. AST (0900 UTC) – Tropical Depression Ten forms 725 miles (1150 km) west-southwest of the Azores.[12]
5:30 p.m. EDT (2130 UTC) – Hurricane Ivan passes just south of Grenada with 125 mph (201 km/h) winds.[11]
September 9
2 a.m. AST (0600 UTC) – Hurricane Ivan reaches Category 5 strength less than 100 miles (160 km) away from Aruba.[11]
8 a.m. AST (1200 UTC) – Tropical Depression Ten degenerates into a remnant low.[12]
September 10
11:30 p.m. EDT (0330 UTC, September 11) – Hurricane Ivan passes just south of Jamaica with 150 mph (240 km/h) winds.[11]
September 11
8 p.m. EDT (0000 UTC, September 12) – Hurricane Ivan has a recorded minimum pressure of 910 millibars, making it the then sixth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record.[11]
September 12
10:45 a.m. EDT (1415 UTC) – Hurricane Ivan passes close to Grand Cayman with 150 mph (240 km/h) winds.[11]
September 13
2 p.m. AST (1800 UTC) – Tropical Depression Eleven forms 70 miles (110 km) east-southeast of Guadeloupe.[13]
9 p.m. EDT (0100 UTC, September 14) – Hurricane Ivan passes near the western tip of Cuba with 160 mph (260 km/h) winds.[11]
September 14
12 a.m. AST (0400 UTC) – Tropical Depression Eleven makes landfall on Guadeloupe with 35 mph (56 km/h) winds.[13]
12 p.m. EDT (1600 UTC) – Tropical Storm Jeanne makes landfall near Yabucoa, Puerto Rico with 60 mph (97 km/h) winds.[13]
September 16
2 a.m. AST (0600 UTC) – Tropical Depression Twelve forms 390 miles (630 km) southwest of the Cape Verde islands.[14]
1:50 a.m. CDT (0650 UTC) – Hurricane Ivan makes landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama with 120 mph (190 km/h) winds.[11]
7 a.m. AST (1100 UTC) – Tropical Storm Jeanne strengthens into Hurricane Jeanne as it makes landfall on the Dominican Republic with 80 mph (129 km/h) winds.[13]
1 p.m. CDT (1800 UTC) – Hurricane Ivan weakens into a tropical storm.[11]
1 p.m. CDT (1800 UTC) – A partial remnant of former Hurricane Ivan regenerates into Tropical Depression Ivan in the Gulf of Mexico.[11]
7 p.m. CDT (0000 UTC, September 23) – Tropical Depression Ivan strengthens into Tropical Storm Ivan, nearly a week after being classified as extratropical.[11]
September 23
2 p.m. AST (1800 UTC) – Tropical Storm Lisa weakens into a tropical depression.[15]
7 p.m. CDT (0000 UTC, September 24) – Tropical Storm Ivan weakens into a tropical depression.[11]
9 p.m. CDT (0200 UTC, September 24) – Tropical Depression Ivan makes its second landfall near Cameron, Louisiana with 30 mph (48 km/h) winds.[11]
^Hurricanes reaching Category 3 (wind speeds of 111 miles per hour (179 km/h)) or higher on the 5-level Saffir–Simpson wind speed scale are considered major hurricanes.[1]