Below: WRAL video on Hurricane Hazel.

10/15/2009- Hazel's 55th Anniversary Today Reminds Us...  The hurricane season ain't over yet.  Hurricane Hazel was arguably the worst hurricane to make landfall in NC History.  In Long Beach (now part of Oak Island) where Hazel arrived, only 5 of the 357 buildings remained standing.  This Category 4 hurricane, with a storm surge of 17 ft and winds reaching 140 mph, killed 19 and damaged about 40,000 structures in NC.   Learn more at Storms to Life.  This late arriving hurricane reminds us that the hurricane season isn't officially over until November 1, and some have suggested the season may be getting longer (Kossin, 2008). At the moment sea surface temperatures remain above normal in the tropics, and reduced wind shear at the end of the month could lead to a late hurricane according to Dr. Jeff Masters.   Click here for previous Bytes. 

posted 9/10/2008           

FISH KILL IN PAMLICO RIVER

Four million fish were estimated to have been killed by a recent in a fish kill in the Pamlico River near Washington, NC.  Anoxic conditions in the estuary were evident in many NC estuaries at this time, see the low dissolved oxygen hazards (circled in red at right) that were visible on the NC COHAZ real-time mapping page.

News coverage:   WNCT 

posted 9/5/2008           

HANNA HITS NORTH CAROLINA

Tropical Storm Hanna brings rain, wind and swell to eastern North Carolina and much of the eastern U.S..

Storm news:         WRAL

Misc. Storm information:  Wikipedia

Map of some Cape Verde hurricanes that had a strong impact on North Carolina.  Click to enlarge.

Posted 8/11/2009    Strong Cape Verde hurricanes have a history of hitting NC.  Several systems in the eastern Atlantic are now being monitored by the NHC.  Hurricanes that begin to take shape just off the coast of Africa are often referred to as Cape Verde systems, named for the islands near their origin.  These systems are often long-lived and have much time to develop into potentially very strong storms (e.g., hurricanes Andrew and Ivan).  North Carolina has been severely affected by several Cape Verde storms, including Isabel (2003), Floyd (1999), Bonnie (1998), Fran (1996), Bertha (1996), Hugo (1989), Donna (1960), and San Ciriaco (1899) which wiped out the whaling community of Diamond City on Shackleford Banks.  Although the 2009 season forecast has recently been downgraded, it takes one hurricane to make it disastrous.  See previous news.

Graph of NC tropical storm strength (wind speed) versus time of year.  Note, some subtropical storms are included.   Click to enlarge.

Posted 5/28/2009    NC Hurricane History: A Historically Slow Start BUT Be Ready The history of hurricanes in NC suggests one arriving in June is unlikely, but a chance remains, and residents and visitors must get prepared now.  Hurricanes Audrey, Alma and Agnes were the worst of the "A"-named storms in the Atlantic in June.  Learn more about the NC hurricane history and the June tropical storms by reading this short summary by J.P. Walsh.   For information on how to get prepared, please visit the National Hurricane Center's web site.  Finally, NOAA recently announced their hurricane season outlook as "average".  Read about or watch the announcement by visiting the Washington Post site. To check on recent activity, click above on "Active Hurricanes".  See previous news.

Posted 9/10/2009   The 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Floyd. On Sept 16th, 1999 Floyd made landfall at Cape Fear, NC as a Cat 2 hurricane. The surf was large, and the winds were strong, but they are not why Floyd is most remembered. The dousing of rain on top of already soaked soils from previous rainfall led to extensive flooding in eastern NC.  Watch a CBS story (left); view some facts; see maps and photos; read in the Reflector; come to a symposium at ECU to learn more.  Click here for previous Bytes.