aloft caused Frances to weaken to a Category 3 hurricane late on September 2. At 19:30 UTC on September 2, the system made landfall on San Salvador Island with winds of . Early the next day, Frances struck Cat Island while somewhat weaker. The system decelerated and weakened slightly to a Category 2 hurricane before landfall in Eleuthera hours later. By September 4, Frances made another landfall on Grand Bahama with winds of . Moving slowly west-northwestward, the hurricane made landfall in Hutchinson Island, Florida at the same intensity, early on September 5. Rapidly weakening, Frances fell to Category 1 intensity around midday and deteriorated to a tropical storm about six hours later. On September 6, the storm emerged into the Gulf of Mexico near New Port Richey, before another landfall at the mouth of the Aucilla River with winds of . Early on September 7, Frances weakened to a tropical depression over Georgia. By late the next day, the system became extratropical, though the remnants persisted until dissipation over the Gulf of Saint Lawrence on September 11. In the Bahamas, about 75% of residents lost electricity. Between 13 and 17 percent of the non-native Australian pine on San Salvador Island experienced damage, primarily from snapping, though some browning from salt spray was noted. Several feet of water flooded the international airport at Freeport. Insured losses reached about $300 million. Severe damage was also dealt to banana, corn, and pineapple crops. About 4,160 homes received minor damage, while 2,522 houses were rendered uninhabitable or destroyed. About 700 people were left homeless. Additionally, sea walls, schools, bridges, roads, and docks were damaged. Strong winds brought severe damage to Florida, especially counties along the east coast. Hundreds of homes, mobile homes, and businesses were destroyed in Indian River, Martin, and St. Lucie counties, and damage was inflicted on thousands of other structures there. In the tri-county area alone, damage totaled approximately $4.5 billion. Palm Beach County also suffered particularly severely, with 15,000 houses and 2,400 businesses damaged there. About 4.27 million customers were left without electricity in Florida. Frances and its remnants brought extensive flooding to other states, especially in Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The storm spawned 101 tornadoes in the United States, with 45 in South Carolina alone. Damage in the United States totaled approximately $9.8 billion, placing Frances among the costliest hurricanes in the country. Overall, the storm