Hurricane (Typhoon) — Beaufort, North Carolina

2011-08-26 to 2011-08-28 · Beaufort, North Carolina

Event narrative

Across Beaufort County...winds gusted to 90 mph resulting in numerous trees and power-lines down with major power outages...and structural damage due to a 7 to 11 foot surge along the Pamlico sound and Pamlico river. Numerous homes sustained major damage and were swept away in the Jarvis landing residential and Aurora Ferry landing areas. Storm total rainfall of 11 to 16 inches resulted in extensive freshwater flooding of roads and low lying areas. Mandatory and voluntary evacuations were ordered on the 25th. An EF1 tornado touched down near Belhaven around 10 pm on the 26th. The tornado heavily damaged the Edgewater Motors dealership. One woman with a pre-existing medical condition had an emergency as the hurricane began and Emergency personnel were unable to reach her for two hours due to downed trees and flooding. She passed away the following day.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Irene made landfall during the morning of the 27th, near Cape Lookout, as a large category 1 hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Due to the large size of the hurricane, strong damaging winds, major storm surge, and flooding rains were experienced across much of eastern North Carolina. Several destructive tornados occurred during the evening of the 26th associated with the hurricane. Millions of dollars in damages were reported across the area. Property and crop damages were estimated to be 381 million dollars. Storm surge damages were estimated at 240 million dollars. The lowest pressure, 950.6 millibars, was recorded in Duck at 2112 UTC on the 27th. The highest official sustained wind measured was 63 knots or 73 mph at Cedar Island at 1050 UTC on the 27th. The highest wind gust of 100 knots was recorded at the Cedar Island Ferry at 1150 UTC on the 27th. The highest storm surges of 8-11 feet occurred along the Pamlico Sound, and the lower reaches of the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers on the 27th. Storm total rainfall ranged from 5.2 to 15.74 inches across area with the heaviest rainfall across Pamlico, Beaufort, and Craven counties. Two direct fatalities occurred in Pitt County. One fatality was due to a fallen tree on a house, and a second fatality resulted when a man drove into a tree. There were two indirect fatalities as well. In Beaufort Co. a woman with a pre-existing medical condition had an emergency as the hurricane began and emergency personnel were unable to reach her for two hours due to downed trees and flooding. She passed away the following day. In Onslow County, a man died from a heart attack while boarding up prior to the hurricane.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 344851. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.