By the morning of September 4, 2004, Hurricane Frances had dropped in intensity from a maximum of category 4 (with 140 mph winds) to category 2 (105 mph winds). At the same time, the storm slowed to a standstill, delaying its arrival on the Florida coast and delivering sustained hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall to the Bahamas. At 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time the National Weather service predicted the storm would intensify slightly and strike Florida in the early hours of the morning. Because of the slow speed of the storm, extremely high total rainfall amounts are possible. After crossing Florida, Frances will likely weaken to a tropical storm and move over Mississippi and Alabama on Monday. For hurricane updates, visit the National Hurricane Center.
This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite at 12:00 pm EDT September 4, 2004.
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
