Monday, September 6th, 2004 — Hurricane Frances finally came ashore late Saturday night, after what seemed like an interminable waiting period for most Floridians, especially those on the East Coast. The giant storm packed hurricane force winds as far out as 85 miles on each side of the center, but fortunately, by the time Frances arrived those winds had slowed to around 105 mph (168 kp/hr).
Although still classed by Miami's National Hurricane center as a category 2 storm, Frances packed a lot less punch than the category 4 storm that had been roiling the waters of the Northern Caribbean for over a week. However, even at lesser speeds, the winds, combined with torrential rains and high tides, caused extensive damage along a large portion of the eastern Florida coast.