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Fifteen Tropical or Subtropical Storms formed in the North Atlantic during the 2004 Hurricane Season. Nine of these became hurricanes...with six becoming major hurricanes...category three or higher on the Saffer-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The strongest hurricane was Ivan...which reached category five status. There was one additional Tropical Depression.

Six hurricanes...Alex, Charley, Frances, Gaston, Ivan, and Jeanne struck the United States in 2004. Three Tropical Storms also hit the United States. Charley also hit western Cuba...while Frances and Jeanne also hit the Bahamas...all as major hurricanes.

Ivan hit Grenada and had significant impact on Jamaica...Grand Cayman...and western Cuba. Jeanne also hit the Dominican Republic as a hurricane and Puerto Rico as a strong Tropical Storm.

Atlantic Tropical Cyclones were directly responsible for more than 3000 deaths in 2004. The vast majority of these were in Haiti due to rains from Jeanne. Unadjusted property damage in the U.S. is estimated at more than 42 billion dollars...making 2004 the costliest hurricane season on record. In Florida, the damage totaled up to 25 billion of the estimated 42 billion dollar total. Making Florida the hardest hit state in 2004. Charley is now the second costliest U.S. hurricane on record...while Ivan is now the third costliest hurricane bumping Hugo (1989) down to the fourth place spot.