Tuesday, August 31st, 2004 — A state of emergency was declared as Tropical Storm Gaston poured nearly a foot of rain on central Virginia, flooding streets with several feet of rushing water that floated cars and trucks and smashed them into buildings. At least three people were killed. At the same time, Hurricane Frances grew to a Category 4 storm with 135 mph wind Tuesday as it headed past Puerto Rico on a course that could bring it ashore in hard-hit Florida or somewhere else in the Southeast this weekend, the National Hurricane Center said. (Related: Latest forecast maps for Frances)
Gaston surprised forecasters who had expected the storm to move through more quickly as it came north from the Carolinas. The deluge turned Richmond streets into rivers and trapped people in buildings.