Hurricanes that hit Wayne County, North Carolina: hurricane history

51 storms have passed within 50 km of Wayne County from 1851 to 2023, coloured by intensity on the map.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

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 Wayne County

The record holds 51 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Wayne County, North Carolina between 1851 and 2023. The busiest month is September, with 20 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.

  • 51storms within 50 km
  • 2major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 11at 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 Wayne County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression714%
Tropical storm2957%
Category 1816%
Category 212%
Category 312%
Category 412%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity48%

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

Wayne County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 5 in 2000s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2023, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1851, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s3
1860s2
1870s3
1880s4
1890s4
1900s1
1910s3
1920s1
1930s1
1940s2
1950s3
1960s4
1970s4
1980s2
1990s4
2000s5
2010s2
2020s3

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 20 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May3Jun4Jul6Aug8Sep20Oct10Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May3
Jun4
Jul6
Aug8
Sep20
Oct10
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Wayne County

  • Hazel (1954)5 October 1954 to 18 October 1954, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 938 hPa
  • Fran (1996)23 August 1996 to 10 September 1996, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 946 hPa
  • Bertha (1996)5 July 1996 to 17 July 1996, Category 2 (90 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 960 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1876 (North Atlantic)10 September 1876 to 20 September 1876, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 980 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1881 (North Atlantic)3 September 1881 to 11 September 1881, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 975 hPa

Most recent storms near Wayne County

  • Ophelia (2023)21 September 2023 to 24 September 2023, peak Tropical storm (60 kt), 981 hPa
  • Claudette (2021)17 June 2021 to 23 June 2021, peak Tropical storm (40 kt), 1,003 hPa
  • Isaias (2020)28 July 2020 to 5 August 2020, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 986 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 Wayne County

  • Diana (1984)8 September 1984 to 16 September 1984, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 949 hPa
  • Hazel (1954)5 October 1954 to 18 October 1954, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 938 hPa
  • Fran (1996)23 August 1996 to 10 September 1996, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 946 hPa
  • Bertha (1996)5 July 1996 to 17 July 1996, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 960 hPa
  • Ginger (1971)6 September 1971 to 6 October 1971, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 959 hPa
  • Isbell (1964)9 October 1964 to 16 October 1964, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 964 hPa

More in North Carolina

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.