{"id":1239,"date":"2026-10-29T14:37:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T18:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climate.ncsu.edu\/learn\/?page_id=1239"},"modified":"2026-11-10T10:43:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T15:43:16","slug":"hazards","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/climate.ncsu.edu\/learn\/hurricanes\/hazards\/","title":{"rendered":"Hurricane Hazards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
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\n \n Hurricanes Home<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n
\n \n Tropical Storm Science<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n
\n \n Hurricane Hazards<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n
\n \n Climate Change and Hurricanes<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n
\n \n Notable Storms<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n
\n \n Landfall in NC<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

When hurricanes or their remnants reach North Carolina, they can bring a wide range of impacts, often varying across the state from the shoreline to our high mountain slopes. With so many damaging conditions possible during these storms, that makes preparedness<\/a> even more important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Damaging Winds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you think about landfalling hurricanes, the image of flags being ripped and trees being tilted by the wind probably comes to mind. Indeed, hurricanes are well known for \u2013 and even classified by<\/a> \u2013 their wind speeds, which by definition reach at least 74 miles per hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winds of even a low-end hurricane or tropical storm are capable of damaging well-constructed homes, especially via falling branches or trees, which can also be caused by strong winds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A storm\u2019s strongest winds tend to occur in the eyewall since it\u2019s near the area of the lowest pressure, and within the right front quadrant<\/em><\/a> \u2013 that is, on the right side of the storm\u2019s direction of movement \u2013 since the storm\u2019s forward speed adds to the effective force of the winds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After making landfall, a tropical storm\u2019s winds tend to weaken due the increased friction of the rough land surface, but strong storms can still produce damaging winds well inland. Major hurricanes at landfall such as Hazel<\/a>, Hugo<\/a>, and Fran<\/a> each generated hurricane-force wind gusts in areas such as Raleigh, Charlotte, and Fayetteville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many trees were uprooted and toppled in both the Piedmont and Coastal Plain by Hurricane Fran in 1996. (Photo<\/a> by Dave Gatley\/FEMA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Storm Surge<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While at sea, a storm\u2019s winds will whip up the ocean surface and produce some monstrous waves that we can see as high surf, even when a storm is hundreds of miles offshore. Once a storm reaches our coastline, those same wind-driven waves become an even more potent hazard called the storm surge<\/em>, when the ocean overtakes our low-lying coastal areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The surge is typically highest to the right of the eye due to the same right front quadrant effect that produces higher winds in those areas. For instance, when Hurricane Hazel made landfall along the North Carolina\/South Carolina border, the highest surge of 18 feet<\/a> occurred just east of there in Calabash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Complexities of our coastline shape can also lead to a high storm surge in some unexpected areas. If storms cross over or parallel the Outer Banks, their counterclockwise winds can push water from the Pamlico Sound up against inland-facing parts of the coastline; this is called a soundside storm surge<\/em>, and it was particularly impactful during Hurricane Dorian<\/a> in 2019 in towns such as Oriental and Ocracoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hurricane Isabel\u2019s storm surge flooded towns such as Buxton on the Outer Banks in 2003. (Photo by Steve Earley\/The Virginian-Pilot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Heavy Rain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As part of their formation at sea<\/a>, tropical storms are loaded with moisture, and when a storm hundreds of miles in diameter moves over North Carolina, it can drop this moisture as some heavy rainfall amounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our most extreme cases, hurricanes have produced local totals of more than 24 inches of rain. This occurred during Hurricane Floyd<\/a> in 1999 (24.06 inches in Southport), during Hurricane Florence<\/a> in 2018 (35.93 inches in Elizabethtown), and Hurricane Helene<\/a> in 2024 (31.33 inches in Busick).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While receiving this much rain over the course of just a few hours or days can lead to other impacts such as flooding<\/a> and landslides<\/a>, it\u2019s important to remember that hurricanes and their rainfall contribution are a part of our climate. Past research<\/a> at our office showed that for some coastal areas, tropical storms are responsible for up to 20% of the total rainfall during the summer and fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means that when we miss out on rainfall from these storms, we can see droughts develop, and likewise, soaking rains from a hurricane \u2013 preferably without the flooding consequences \u2013 are one of our most effective drought busters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Flooding in Lumberton on October 11, 2016, after Hurricane Matthew. (Photo<\/a> by NOAA Geodetic Survey Remote Sensing Division)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Freshwater Flooding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When torrential rain falls from a tropical storm, all of that water has to go somewhere, and it typically ends up in streams and rivers. When those channels are full, that water then spills over onto the surrounding landscape, flooding agricultural fields, roadways, and nearby cities and towns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After being historically unheard of on a broad scale, we\u2019ve had four storms produce significant freshwater flooding since 1999: Floyd<\/a>, Matthew<\/a>, Florence<\/a>, and Helene<\/a>. Each caused record rainfall amounts, record river crests, and a number of deaths due to the flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That trend holds true nationwide, as 57% of deaths<\/a> associated with landfalling tropical storms between 2013 and 2022 were due to freshwater flooding. Along with being deadly, these flooding storms are among our most costly due to the extent and difficulty of cleaning up water damage in homes and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freshwater flooding, including from hurricanes, is becoming more common due to climate change<\/a> since a warmer atmosphere means more moisture available for storms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Flooding in the Venable Community southwest of Asheville after Hurricane Helene in 2024. (Photo<\/a> by NCDOT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Landslides<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition to flooding, another side effect of heavy rain across the landscape is landslides<\/a>. These occur when moisture weakens the soil on mountain slopes and it is pulled downward by gravity. When these slides pick up materials such as rocks, cars, and even homes, they\u2019re called debris flows<\/em><\/a>, and they can travel at great speeds and over long distances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In western North Carolina<\/a>, landslides have been most common when multiple remnant tropical systems have moved through just days or weeks apart, since each event further saturates and weakens the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August 1940<\/a>, the second soaking rain event in the span of one week produced flooding throughout the Mountains and more than 2,000 landslides in Watauga County. And in September 2004<\/a>, Hurricane Ivan followed in Frances\u2019 tracks, triggering a number of landslides in the southern Mountains, including the deadly Peeks Creek debris flow<\/a> in Macon County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A panoramic view of the aftermath of the Peeks Creek debris flow following Hurricane Ivan in 2004. (Photo via NWS Greenville-Spartanburg<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Severe Weather<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Thunderstorms are the building blocks of hurricanes, which severe thunderstorm hazards are possible during our tropical events, most commonly when the outer rain bands move over North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embedded thunderstorms in these rain bands have access to ample moisture, instability, lift, and the shifting, shearing winds that creates an overturning of air in the lower atmosphere; these are all ingredients for tornado formation<\/a>, which occurs when that spiraling air is tilted vertically by a thunderstorm updraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most tropical tornadoes tend to be weaker and short-lived, they can still be damaging or deadly, and on occasion, stronger tornadoes are possible. In 2020, Hurricane Isaias<\/a> spawned an EF3 tornado<\/a> that injured 14 people and killed 2 in Bertie County. And in 2024, Hurricane Helene spawned an EF3 in Nash County<\/a> that occurred almost 400 miles from the storm\u2019s center at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Home and tree debris scattered across the ground after a tornado during Hurricane Isaias in Bertie County in 2020. (Photo by NWS Wakefield<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Compound Hazards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The combination of these hazards that we tend to get with most tropical storms, as well as their interactions with our human-built infrastructure, can lead to additional, compound events<\/em><\/a>. Examples of these in North Carolina include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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