Hurricanes that hit Gates County, North Carolina: hurricane history

52 storms have passed within 50 km of Gates 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 Gates County

The record holds 52 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Gates County, North Carolina between 1851 and 2021. The busiest month is September, with 21 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 2 strength. 4 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 52storms within 50 km
  • 0major (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 Gates County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression917%
Tropical storm2854%
Category 1815%
Category 236%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity48%

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

Gates County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 7 in 1960s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1940s1960s1990s2010s

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
1850s3
1860s4
1870s4
1880s6
1890s1
1900s1
1910s2
1930s3
1940s1
1950s3
1960s7
1970s3
1990s3
2000s7
2010s2
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 21 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May3Jun4Jul8Aug11Sep21Oct5Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May3
Jun4
Jul8
Aug11
Sep21
Oct5
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Gates County

  • Unnamed storm of October 1878 (North Atlantic)13 October 1878 to 25 October 1878, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 963 hPa
  • Connie (1955)3 August 1955 to 15 August 1955, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 944 hPa
  • Isabel (2003)6 September 2003 to 20 September 2003, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 915 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 August 1933 (North Atlantic)13 August 1933 to 28 August 1933, Category 1 (75 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 948 hPa

Most recent storms near Gates County

  • 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, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 986 hPa
  • Ana (2015)6 May 2015 to 12 May 2015, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 998 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 Gates County

  • Isabel (2003)6 September 2003 to 20 September 2003, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 915 hPa
  • Floyd (1999)7 September 1999 to 19 September 1999, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 921 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
  • Bertha (1996)5 July 1996 to 17 July 1996, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 960 hPa

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