Hurricane (Typhoon) — Inland New Hanover, North Carolina

2016-10-08 to 2016-10-09 · Inland New Hanover, North Carolina

Event narrative

Hurricane Matthew moved up the eastern seaboard, bringing very heavy rain and strong winds. Rainfall amounts ranged from three to six inches. A peak wind of 70 mph was reported at the Wilmington airport, with a suspect report of 82 mph recorded at Federal Point. Wind gusts to hurricane strength and saturated ground caused damage to numerous trees. Many roads became flooded due to the heavy rain. The downtown Wilmington gauge along the lower Cape Fear River peaked at of 8.21 feet, eclipsing the old record of 8.15 feet set in 1954 by Hurricane Hazel. These levels led to flooding in portions of Carolina Beach. Minor ocean overwash was observed along the immediate coast.

Wider weather episode

Major Hurricane Matthew moved up the southeast coast and slowly weakened to a category 1 storm as it moved up along the South Carolina coast and then eastward near the North Carolina coast. The hurricane brought 6 to 12 inches of rain and up to 18 inches to some areas of southeast North Carolina, with the bulk of the rainfall occurring within a 12 hour period. This rain fell on wet to in some cases saturated soil due to much above normal rainfall in September. The result was historic flooding; widespread flash flooding, and an extended period of major to record river flooding. Matthew's flooding rains, surge and wind brought loss of life, displaced tens of thousands of people, and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in structural damage as homes and businesses were devastated or totally destroyed. Major infrastructure will have to be repaired or rebuilt.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 663084. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.