Charley bore down after Tropical Storm Bonnie's disorganized center sloshed ashore on Thursday morning on the central Florida Panhandle with winds estimated near 80kph. Bonnie failed to produce any flooding rains, but some strong squalls were reported. It weakened into a depression and was no longer a threat as it moved into southern Georgia, Cobb said.
The one-two punch of tropical weather was highly unusual. Storms have not struck so close together in Florida since 1906.
About 6.5 million of Florida's 17 million residents were in Charley's projected path, the US Census Bureau reported.
Many residents prepared for the worst, buying plywood to board up homes and stocking up on water, canned food and batteries to ride out the hurricane.
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