Storm Surge/Tide — Coastal New Hanover, North Carolina

2020-08-03 · Coastal New Hanover, North Carolina

Event narrative

Storm surge flooding occurred at the intersection of Canal Drive and Pelican Lane.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Isaias came off the African coast as a tropical wave on July 23, 2020. It became Tropical Storm Isaias on July 30th, further strengthening to a hurricane on the 31st. After crossing the Bahamas, it weakened to a tropical storm. Isaias strengthened again to a hurricane as it approached the coast of North Carolina. Hurricane Isaias made landfall at Ocean Isle Beach as a strong Category 1 around 11 pm on August 3rd, with an 87 mph recorded gust. It pushed inland to Goldsboro NC, where it weakened and accelerated northward.

The hurricane spawned six tornadoes, ranging from EF-0 to EF-2. Most of the tornadoes occurred in Brunswick County.

Rainfall was heaviest along the coast of Georgetown County, topping out at nearly seven inches. Most areas along the coast of North and South Carolina received around three to four inches on average, with lesser amounts inland. The Wilmington ASOS reported a gust to 74 mph. Storm surge was significant in Brunswick County, where many docks were damage, and homes and businesses were inundated with three feet of water. Downtown Wilmington also received a record surge that came up the Cape Fear River. Over 80,000 residences lost power in New Hanover county, with widespread outages along the coast of Pender County, as they were in the eastern eyewall. Total damage was at least 300 million dollars.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 916401. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.