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It's a category 4
NBC, MSNBC and news services
Updated: 1:58 p.m. ET Aug. 13, 2004 TAMPA, Fla. -
A "scary, scary" Hurricane Charley strengthened Friday to sustained winds of 145 mph, making it a category 4 hurricane, which can cause severe damage, capable of damaging buildings and flooding coastal areas with 18-foot storm surges. As Charley pushed toward the southwest coast of Florida, forecasters said they expected it to make landfall Friday afternoon south of Tampa and just north of Fort Myers.
Forecasters moved the hurricane's projected track slightly to the south, indicating the eye of the storm could move over the Sarasota-Charlotte county area, about 120 miles south of the more heavily populated Tampa Bay. That area includes low-lying islands that have become popular retirement and tourist destinations in recent years.
By noon, Charley’s outer bands were already dropping rain on southwestern Florida.
Charley was upgraded from a category 2 to a 4 within just 90 minutes. Only category 5, with winds greater than 155 mph and causing catastrophic damage, is higher on the scale used by the National Hurricane Center.
If it remains at its current strength, Charley would be the strongest hurricane since category 5 Andrew hit south of Miami in 1992.
Florida officials urged about 2 million people to evacuate coastal areas and avoid the path of a storm that could then sweep through central Florida with hurricane-force winds.
In Tampa, many streets there were deserted Friday morning as workers were told to stay home.
By 8 a.m. ET, a shelter at Sickles High School in northwestern Tampa was full to its capacity of 500. Windows had been reinforced with screens and tarps to prepare for the storm.
“I’m scared that we’re going to go home and nothing is going to be there,” 20-year-old Amanda Kellogg said as she played blackjack with four friends, their suitcases, bedding and other possessions piled beside them.
Once it makes landfall, Charley was expected to head through central Florida with hurricane-force winds for up to 12 hours, Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, told MSNBC.
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