Hurricane History Map

Hurricanes that hit Carteret County, North Carolina: hurricane history

91 storms have passed within 50 km of Carteret County from 1856 to 2023, coloured by intensity on the map.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Carteret County

The record holds 91 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Carteret County, North Carolina between 1856 and 2023. The busiest month is September, with 30 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 4 strength. 4 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 91storms within 50 km
  • 5major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 37at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Carteret County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression89%
Tropical storm4246%
Category 11921%
Category 21314%
Category 344%
Category 411%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity44%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Carteret County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 10 in 1960s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2023, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1856, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s3
1860s4
1870s5
1880s7
1890s8
1900s5
1910s3
1930s2
1940s2
1950s7
1960s10
1970s5
1980s6
1990s5
2000s10
2010s7
2020s2

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 30 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May3Jun11Jul11Aug22Sep30Oct12Nov2Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May3
Jun11
Jul11
Aug22
Sep30
Oct12
Nov2
Dec0

Strongest storms near Carteret County

  • Helene (1958)21 September 1958 to 4 October 1958, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 933 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1887 (North Atlantic)14 August 1887 to 24 August 1887, peak Category 3 (105 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of August 1899 (North Atlantic)3 August 1899 to 4 September 1899, Category 3 (105 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1879 (North Atlantic)12 August 1879 to 20 August 1879, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 971 hPa
  • Carol (1954)25 August 1954 to 1 September 1954, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 955 hPa

Most recent storms near Carteret County

  • Ophelia (2023)21 September 2023 to 24 September 2023, peak Tropical storm (60 kt), 981 hPa
  • Fay (2020)5 July 2020 to 11 July 2020, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 998 hPa
  • Dorian (2019)24 August 2019 to 9 September 2019, Category 2 (90 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 910 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

Notable storms near Carteret County

  • Dorian (2019)24 August 2019 to 9 September 2019, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 910 hPa
  • Isabel (2003)6 September 2003 to 20 September 2003, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 915 hPa
  • Matthew (2016)28 September 2016 to 10 October 2016, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 934 hPa
  • Floyd (1999)7 September 1999 to 19 September 1999, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 921 hPa
  • Donna (1960)29 August 1960 to 14 September 1960, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa
  • Gloria (1985)16 September 1985 to 2 October 1985, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 920 hPa
  • Helene (1958)21 September 1958 to 4 October 1958, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 933 hPa
  • Connie (1955)3 August 1955 to 15 August 1955, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 944 hPa
  • Ione (1955)10 September 1955 to 27 September 1955, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 938 hPa
  • Diana (1984)8 September 1984 to 16 September 1984, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 949 hPa
  • Alex (2004)31 July 2004 to 6 August 2004, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 957 hPa
  • Irene (2011)21 August 2011 to 30 August 2011, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 942 hPa

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