The following table breaks down the types of tropical cyclone events in North Carolina. Direct landfalling storms are only those that directly strike North Carolina's coast. Storms affecting North Carolina include all tropical cyclones that have had an impact on the state but did not make direct landfall. Total storms affecting North Carolina include all tropical cyclones that have somehow affected the state.

Select a state or U.S. Territory: -------------- Alabama Florida Georgia North Carolina South Carolina Virginia Puerto Rico

Select a storm radius: -------------- 25 miles 50 miles 75 miles 100 miles 125 miles 150 miles 175 miles 200 miles

To view storms within a given radius of a specific city or address, search the Hurricanes Database.

The following two graphs break down tropical cyclone climatology. The left graph shows the total number of days the state has been impacted by tropical systems on a weekly basis. This data shows the annual distribution of tropical systems affecting North Carolina, with the maximum activity in the first week of September. However, note the early season (June and July) activity in North Carolina. The early season activity is not favored across the Atlantic, but is instead specific to the southeastern United States due to the warm Gulf Stream off the coast.

The right graph shows the trend of tropical systems affecting by decade. This chart shows the variability in tropical system numbers since the beginning of records in 1851. The first trend to notice is the natural up and down cycles marking extremely active decades versus tamer decades. Another trend to notice is the apparent overall upward trend in storm numbers. The overall upward trend, especially in the 1990s and 2000s is due to improvements in observational tools - especially satellites - and analysis techniques by the National Hurricane Center. A recent study by the Hurricane Center has shown that the higher numbers are attributable to better detection of short-lived systems and likely not the effect of greenhouse warming climate change.

Total Storm Days by Week for NC Within 150 Miles (1851 - 2016)	Total Storms Affecting NC by Decade Within 150 Miles (1851 - 2016)
Storm Type: Cat 5 Cat 4 Cat 3 Cat 2 Cat 1 Tropical Storm Subtropical Storm Depression Extratropical Low Start Year: 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016   End Year: 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Loading...

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