Hurricane History Map

Hurricanes that hit Dare County, North Carolina: hurricane history

91 storms have passed within 50 km of Dare County from 1851 to 2021, 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 Dare County

The record holds 91 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Dare County, North Carolina between 1851 and 2021. The busiest month is September, with 27 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
  • 8major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 39at 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 Dare County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression55%
Tropical storm4347%
Category 12022%
Category 21112%
Category 378%
Category 411%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity44%

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

Dare County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 10 in 1960s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2021, 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
1850s6
1860s4
1870s2
1880s6
1890s8
1900s5
1910s2
1920s1
1930s6
1940s4
1950s6
1960s10
1970s3
1980s5
1990s6
2000s8
2010s6
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 27 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May2Jun11Jul13Aug26Sep27Oct11Nov1Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May2
Jun11
Jul13
Aug26
Sep27
Oct11
Nov1
Dec0

Strongest storms near Dare 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 September 1944 (North Atlantic)9 September 1944 to 16 September 1944, Category 3 (105 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1879 (North Atlantic)12 August 1879 to 20 August 1879, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 971 hPa

Most recent storms near Dare County

  • Claudette (2021)17 June 2021 to 23 June 2021, peak Tropical storm (40 kt), 1,003 hPa
  • Fay (2020)5 July 2020 to 11 July 2020, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 998 hPa
  • Arthur (2020)16 May 2020 to 21 May 2020, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 990 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 Dare County

  • Dorian (2019)24 August 2019 to 9 September 2019, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 910 hPa
  • Matthew (2016)28 September 2016 to 10 October 2016, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 934 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
  • Bob (1991)16 August 1991 to 29 August 1991, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 950 hPa
  • Bonnie (1998)19 August 1998 to 31 August 1998, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 954 hPa
  • Carol (1954)25 August 1954 to 1 September 1954, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 955 hPa

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