Hurricane Charley

The MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Hurricane Charley on August 11 at 2:15 p.m. EDT. At the time this image was taken, Charley has just been upgraded to hurricane status and had maximum sustained winds near 75 mph. Charley was located about 90 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica and was moving towards the west-northwest at 18 mph.
The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions and formats.

Hurricane Charley was the first of four individual hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the United States. It was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph (240 km/h) winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It made landfall in Southwest Florida at maximum strength, making it the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992 and the strongest hurricane to hit southwest Florida since Hurricane Donna in 1960.

Credit: Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.