Tropical Storm — Southern Craven, North Carolina

2020-08-04 · Southern Craven, North Carolina

Event narrative

Tropical storm force wind gusts afflicted the area during the overnight hours. A wind gust of 61 mph was recorded at Cherry Point MCAS at 3:46 AM EDT, and a wind gust of 59 mph was recorded at New Bern Airport at 2:49 AM EDT. Sporadic power outages occurred due to downed trees and powerlines. Storm surge inundated parts of New Bern adjacent to the Neuse River. Values were generally 2 to 3 feet.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Isaias originated from a vigorous tropical wave off the coast of Africa that was first identified by the National Hurricane Center on July 23, 2020. The tropical wave gradually became more organized, and became Tropical Storm Isaias on July 30. Isaias marked the earliest ninth named storm on record, surpassing 2005's Hurricane Irene by eight days. Isaias strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane the next day, reaching a peak intensity of 85 mph. On August 1, the storm made landfall on North Andros, Bahamas and subsequently weakened to a tropical storm before paralleling the east coast of Florida and Georgia. As it approached the Carolina coastline, it re-intensified to a hurricane shortly before making landfall near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, at 11:10 PM EDT on August 3 as a Category 1 hurricane, and proceeded to accelerate up the East Coast of the United States. Across eastern North Carolina, Isaias produced tropical storm force winds, pockets of heavy rainfall, minor storm surge and tornadoes.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 909792. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.