Hurricane (Typhoon) — Coastal Brunswick, North Carolina

2016-10-08 to 2016-10-09 · Coastal Brunswick, North Carolina

Event narrative

Hurricane Matthew moved up the eastern seaboard, bringing very heavy rain and strong winds. Rainfall amounts ranged from four to nine inches. Most of the peak winds were near 60 mph, with a suspect gust of 86 mph at the St James Plantation. Wind gusts to hurricane strength and flooded ground caused widespread trees and power line damage. Major river flooding occurred near the confluence of the Black River and the Cape Fear River in the days following Matthew. Rescues were made along the Lockwood Folly River in Shallotte. Major flooding also occurred at the Waccamaw River near Freeland. NC routes 130 and 904 were closed due to river flooding. Major beach erosion was observed at Oak Island due to the storm surge. The end of Oak Island Pier collapsed into the ocean during the storm.

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 663244. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.