Tropical Storm — Washington, North Carolina

2018-10-11 · Washington, North Carolina

Event narrative

A peak wind gust of 49 mph was measured at a personal weather station near Creswell at 10:18 PM EDT.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Michael was the third-most intense hurricane to make landfall in the United States, behind only the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and Hurricane Camille in 1969. The storm made landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida as a Category 4 storm on October 10, 2018, with top winds of 155 mph and a central pressure of 919 mb. Once inland, Michael weakened rapidly and was a Tropical Storm on October 11 as it moved across inland portions of North Carolina before exiting the coast along the Delmarva Peninsula early on October 12, 2018.

As Michael passed through North Carolina, thousands were left without power. Wind gusts as high as 74 mph were observed in Kitty Hawk. Sporadic tree damage along with minor shingle damage was observed across the northern Outer Banks. The main impact in eastern North Carolina from Michael was surge flooding on the northern Outer Banks. Water levels were 2 to 4 feet above ground level on the sound side north of Avon. Hardest hit areas included Manteo, Kitty Hawk, and Kill Devil Hills.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 789588. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.