Hurricane Ivan Hits Florida & Floods East Coast September 14-17, 2004

It had only been a week since Hurricane Frances made landfall in the eastern section of the state when Floridians were on the watch again -- due to Hurricane Ivan. Fortunately, Ivan spared the western Gulf coast of Florida, but it powered onshore near Mobile, AL. Users of AccuWeather's RadarPlus service tracked the storm before it came onshore, as it made landfall, and as its remnants combined with a front to cause record flooding in the mid-Atlantic.

September 2 - September 16: Hurricane Ivan History Graphic

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Visible Satellite 7:00 PM EDT 9/15 - High-resolution visible satellite imagery shows how close the brutal eye of Hurricane Ivan is to the southeasternmost tip of Louisiana.		New Orleans Radar 7:00 PM EDT 9/15 - With an overlay of the New Orleans local radar data, one gets a feeling of how lucky New Orleans will be as the storm moves north.


Gulf Coast Winds, Satellite, Radar 7:05 PM EDT 9/15 - As the sun sets and the visible satellite photo fades to darkness, the winds swirl around Hurricane Ivan as it aims its eye at Mobile, Alabama. Arrows indicate estimated wind direction and relative strength while numbers show reported wind speeds.		Hi-Res Visible Satellite + Surface Observations 7:05 PM EDT 9/15 - Winds are strong across Gulf Coast surface reporting stations ahead of the storm, as Ivan's eye looms offshore. RadarPlus allows users to choose datatypes and geographical layers to overlay, and lets them turn them on and off at will.


Mobile, AL Radar Velocity Data 2:29 AM EDT - As Ivan begins to make landfall between Dauphin Island and Jack Edwards airports, radar velocity data confirms wind speeds far in excess of 64 knots on shore. See below for movies of the landfall of Hurricane Ivan.		East Coast Radar, Winds, Pressure 11:00Z 9/17 - The remnants of Hurricane Ivan have combined with a frontal system. This will spell bad news for the East Coast as flooding rain will innundate many areas. The center of circulation is clearly shown by the low (blue) pressure area as wind arrows circle into the system.


Tampa Radar MOVIE - 5:03 PM EDT - 10:01 PM 9/14 - Severe storms with hail and strong rotation (probably multiple waterspouts) plauge the waters just offshore from Tampa. Had Ivan been slightly to the east, the Tampa area would have been raked by these storms.		Gulf Regional Radar MOVIE - 17:45Z 9/15 - 02:00Z 9/16 - Hurricane Ivan swirls offshore, moving northward and just grazing New Orleans. The city, which is primarily below sea-level, was very lucky with respect to Ivan's track.


*Hurricane Ivan Landfall - Regional* Radar MOVIE - 05:05Z 9/15 - 13:20Z 9/16 -** Hurricane Ivan makes landfall just to the southeast of Mobile, AL, then swirls into the state of Alabama.		*Hurricane Ivan Landfall - Mobile, AL Local* Radar MOVIE - 1:09 AM EDT - 6:47 9/16 -** This local radar movie gives much more detail than the regional, showing county borders and more cities, but still showing the entire storm swirling inland.


*Hurricane Ivan Landfall - Mobile, AL Zoomed Local* Radar MOVIE - 1:09 AM EDT - 6:47 9/16 -** RadarPlus zooms into the Mobile, AL area in this movie to show you minor cities, airports, and local roads. Landfall of the inner eyewall began at 2:16 AM EDT.		*Hurricane Ivan Landfall - Mobile, AL Velocity* Radar MOVIE - 1:21 AM EDT - 7:57 9/16 -** NEXRAD Doppler Velocity data from Mobile, AL shows intense wind speeds in excess of 64 knots in a wide area around the eye as the storm makes landfall.


East Coast Radar MOVIE - 15:10Z - 23:45Z 9/17 - The remnants of Hurricane Ivan combine with a frontal system to bring a line of severe thunderstorms to the mid-Atlantic and Carolinas, as flooding rain overspreads the Appalachians and Pennsylvania. Nearly 100 tornado warnings were issued and 60 tornadoes were reported this day.		Raleigh, NC Radar MOVIE - 12:10 PM EDT - 8:54 9/17 - The local radar from Raleigh, NC details the vicious line of severe thunderstorms raking across the state of North Carolina. Over half a dozen tornadoes and a lot of wind damage were the result of this line of storms. A 92-mph wind gust at Raleigh Durham International Airport at 4 p.m. flipped over a dozen planes and damaged 30 vehicles.

		OTHER RadarPlus Galleries: Hurricane Frances 9/4/04 Hurricane Charley 8/13/04 Oklahoma Tornadoes 5/29/04 Find Out How You Can Get RadarPlus
State College, PA Local Radar MOVIE - 4:16 PM EDT - 10:13 9/17 - Ivan batters Pennsylvania with heavy rain in this 6-hour loop. 30-year flooding was reported 10 miles from AccuWeather HQ, which received over 5 inches of rain.