Tropical Storm — Hatteras Island, North Carolina

2023-08-31 · Hatteras Island, North Carolina

Event narrative

Tropical storm force winds were experienced for several hours during the morning hours.

Wider weather episode

Idalia developed near the Yucatan Channel on August 27th and meandered around for a couple of days before moving into the Gulf of Mexico on August 29th. Idalia rapidly intensified into a major hurricane before making landfall in the Florida Big Bend area as a category 3 hurricane with sustained winds near 125 mph. Idalia then continued northeast through the Southeast U.S., eventually moving off the coast of South Carolina on August 31st as a tropical storm. Idalia then turned east and passed just south of Eastern NC before eventually moving on towards Bermuda.

Across Eastern NC, the biggest impacts from Idalia came from water. Across the northern half of Eastern NC, 2-4 of rain was common, with 5-10 common across the southern half of Eastern NC, closer to Idalia's path. Where the heaviest rain fell, there were numerous roads closed due to flash flooding. The heavy rainfall also forced the closure of campgrounds in Dare County. In Onslow County, several roads were washed out, and led to the development of sinkholes.

In addition to the rainfall impacts, there were also some impacts due to storm surge. Water levels reached as high as 4 feet above ground level, especially in Carteret County, with impacts focused in Downeast, Great Neck Creek, and Back Creek.

Tropical storm force winds were primarily felt across the southern half of Eastern NC, where gusts peaked in the 40 to 60 mph range, with a few higher gusts. This caused some tree damage and power outages.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1134435. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.