hurricanesmapped

NORTH ATLANTIC · SEASON MAP

2004 Atlantic hurricane season

Every recorded track, mapped · 16 storms · 31 Jul 2004–3 Dec 2004

ACCUMULATED CYCLONE ENERGY226.9
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2004 Atlantic hurricane season: every recorded storm trackRecorded tracks of all 16 storms, colored by the wind category at each observation. Hover or focus a storm in the table to highlight its track.UNITED STATESCANADAMEXICOCUBABRAZILAFRICAEUROPECHINAJAPANINDIAGulf of MexicoAtlantic OceanPacific OceanArabian SeaBay of BengalAlex: 31 Jul–6 Aug, peak 105 kt, Category 3Bonnie: 3 Aug–13 Aug, peak 55 kt, Tropical stormCharley: 9 Aug–14 Aug, peak 130 kt, Category 4Danielle: 13 Aug–21 Aug, peak 95 kt, Category 2Earl: 13 Aug–15 Aug, peak 45 kt, Tropical stormFrances: 25 Aug–8 Sep, peak 125 kt, Category 4Gaston: 27 Aug–1 Sep, peak 65 kt, Category 1Hermine: 27 Aug–31 Aug, peak 50 kt, Tropical stormIvan: 2 Sep–24 Sep, peak 145 kt, Category 5Unnamed: 7 Sep–9 Sep, peak 30 kt, Tropical depressionJeanne: 13 Sep–28 Sep, peak 105 kt, Category 3Karl: 16 Sep–24 Sep, peak 125 kt, Category 4Lisa: 19 Sep–3 Oct, peak 65 kt, Category 1Matthew: 8 Oct–10 Oct, peak 40 kt, Tropical stormNicole: 10 Oct–11 Oct, no US-agency windOtto: 30 Nov–3 Dec, peak 40 kt, Tropical storm

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Whole season

DepressionTropical stormCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5Post-tropical
Every storm of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Column headers sort the list.
Alex–105Cat 39572,480
Bonnie–55Tropical storm10013,590
Charley–130Cat 49412,870
Danielle–95Cat 29642,580
Earl–45Tropical storm10091,030
Frances–125Cat 49354,610
Gaston–65Cat 19852,700
Hermine–50Tropical storm10021,030
Ivan–145Cat 59106,700
Unnamed–30Tropical depression1009670
Jeanne–105Cat 39503,190
Karl–125Cat 49385,100
Lisa–65Cat 19873,330
Matthew–40Tropical storm997710
Nicole–—Unclassified—650
Otto–40Tropical storm9951,470

16 storms with an IBTrACS 2004 hurricane season record. Tracks are the archived center positions, first observation 31 Jul 2004, last 3 Dec 2004.

Tropical storms15

Tropical-stage US-agency wind of 34 kt or more

Hurricanes9

64 kt or more, one-minute sustained

Major (Category 3+)6

96 kt or more, Saffir–Simpson scale

Category 51

137 kt or more at any tropical-stage observation

Strongest stormIvan

145 kt · 167 mph / 269 km/h

Lowest pressure910 hPa

Ivan, 12 Sept 2004

Longest track record21.5 days

Ivan, full archive record

Storms without US-agency wind1

Mapped, but outside the counts above

QUICK ANSWERS

The 2004 season in brief

How many hurricanes were there in the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season?

The archive records 9 hurricanes (one-minute winds of 64 kt or more) among 15 tropical storms, with 6 major hurricanes reaching 96 kt. Counts use US-agency winds during the tropical stage.

What was the strongest storm of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season?

Ivan, with a peak one-minute sustained wind of 145 kt (Category 5) on 11 Sept 2004, 18:00 UTC and a minimum central pressure of 910 hPa.

How many Category 5 storms were there in 2004?

1 storm in the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season reached Category 5 on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale: Ivan.

When did the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season start and end?

The first tropical-stage observation is on 31 Jul 2004 and the last on 3 Dec 2004, from 16 tracked storms in the archive.

What was the first hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season?

Alex, which reached hurricane strength (64 kt) on 3 Aug 2004, 03:00 UTC.

METHODOLOGY

Data sources and limitations

The map and totals are generated from NOAA’s IBTrACS v04r01 archive. A storm belongs to this page when the archive lists it in the North Atlantic basin for the 2004 season, so a December storm whose track ends in January stays with its season. Storms that cross between basins appear on the page of their archive basin only.

Counts use US-agency one-minute winds during the tropical stage: 34 kt for a tropical storm, 64 kt for hurricane strength and 96 kt for major intensity, on the Saffir–Simpson scale in every basin. Local agencies classify storms differently, and official season summaries can differ from the archive. Accumulated cyclone energy sums squared winds at six-hourly synoptic times, counting observations in the calendar year. Storms with no US-agency wind are mapped but cannot enter the counts.

The map frame is the same for every North Atlantic season, so a track that leaves it is cut at the edge. Lines show each storm’s center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Coastlines use Natural Earth’s 1:10m land data.

Archive retrieved

NOAA IBTrACS archive · Field documentation

Sources & methodology