Hurricane History Map

Hurricanes that hit Onslow County, North Carolina: hurricane history

75 storms have passed within 50 km of Onslow County from 1852 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 Onslow County

The record holds 75 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Onslow County, North Carolina between 1852 and 2023. The busiest month is September, with 28 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 4 strength. 3 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 75storms within 50 km
  • 2major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 27at 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 Onslow County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression68%
Tropical storm3952%
Category 11520%
Category 21013%
Category 311%
Category 411%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity34%

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

Onslow County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 7 in 1960s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2023, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1852, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s3
1860s3
1870s6
1880s6
1890s6
1900s4
1910s5
1920s1
1940s4
1950s4
1960s7
1970s4
1980s4
1990s5
2000s6
2010s5
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 28 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May2Jun9Jul8Aug17Sep28Oct9Nov2Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May2
Jun9
Jul8
Aug17
Sep28
Oct9
Nov2
Dec0

Strongest storms near Onslow County

  • Helene (1958)21 September 1958 to 4 October 1958, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 933 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1879 (North Atlantic)12 August 1879 to 20 August 1879, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 971 hPa
  • Ione (1955)10 September 1955 to 27 September 1955, Category 2 (95 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 938 hPa
  • Bonnie (1998)19 August 1998 to 31 August 1998, Category 2 (95 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 954 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1857 (North Atlantic)5 September 1857 to 18 September 1857, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 961 hPa

Most recent storms near Onslow County

  • Ophelia (2023)21 September 2023 to 24 September 2023, peak Tropical storm (60 kt), 981 hPa
  • Isaias (2020)28 July 2020 to 5 August 2020, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 986 hPa
  • Florence (2018)30 August 2018 to 18 September 2018, Category 2 (90 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 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 Onslow County

  • Floyd (1999)7 September 1999 to 19 September 1999, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 921 hPa
  • Florence (2018)30 August 2018 to 18 September 2018, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Charley (2004)9 August 2004 to 15 August 2004, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 947 hPa
  • Donna (1960)29 August 1960 to 14 September 1960, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 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
  • Irene (2011)21 August 2011 to 30 August 2011, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 942 hPa
  • Bertha (1996)5 July 1996 to 17 July 1996, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 960 hPa
  • Bonnie (1998)19 August 1998 to 31 August 1998, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 954 hPa
  • Ginger (1971)6 September 1971 to 6 October 1971, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 959 hPa

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