Morehead City

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Carteret County, the county that contains Morehead City.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Carteret County, the county that contains Morehead City.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

High tide flooding

Tide gauges in Carteret County.

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Carteret County, the county that contains Morehead City.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Tsunamis

Tsunami records for Carteret County.

1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 4, 1996Hurricane (Typhoon), Carteret$200 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Fran moved onshore near Cape Fear Thursday evening (9/6) and raced north toward Raleigh cutting a swath of destruction. The Category 3 hurricane destroyed or damaged 90% of the homes in North Topsail Beach. The town hall and police station were destroyed. A 15 foot storm surge cut a 100-foot-wide inlet through thye middle of the island. A Camp Lejeune-based Marine lost his life when he and two others mistakenly drove onto the island at the height of the storm. State Route 1568 was washed out and NC210 was covered with sand. Damage in North Topsail and Onslow County alone exceeds $500 million as 6,688 structures were destroyed or damaged. In Carteret County, Emerald Isle…

2. Sep 13, 2018Hurricane (Typhoon), Carteret$103 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A first ever, county wide mandatory evacuation was issued prior to Florence. Widespread heavy rain and strong winds developed over the region from the morning of September 13th through the morning of September 16th. Rainfall was generally 20��� to 25��� over the county with a storm total of 25.62��� at the National Weather Service office in Newport. Extremely heavy rainfall across the county initially lead to flash flooding with numerous roads that were impassable. The Newport River for the first time in recent history overflowed its banks and inundated many homes and businesses near the river. Over 400 water rescues were reported in the county, most of which…

3. Jul 12, 1996Hurricane (Typhoon), Carteret$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Bertha slammed into the North Carolina coastline between Surf City and North Topsail Beach causing severe damage to property, utilities and roads. Hardest hit were agricultural crops which suffered losses in excess of $126 million. Heaviest damage was in Topsail Beach and all of Onslow County up the coast to Emerald Isle in Carteret County. In Onslow alone, 199 structures were destroyed (117 were mobile homes). An 8-10 foot storm surge struck Swansboro and Emerald Isle. Several businesses were flooded. Water flowed through the streets of Belhaven in Beaufort County where the surge was around 7 feet. In New Bern, numerous boats were sunk or damaged at 3 private marinas.…

4. Sep 14, 1999Hurricane (Typhoon), Carteret$28.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Floyd caused the largest peace time evacuation in the nations history. He also caused massive record flooding across inland sections of eastern North Carolina. At one time Floyd was classified as a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson scale and will likely be categorized as one of the nation's most costly hurricanes in the 20th century.Tropical Depression number eight was detected by the National Hurricane Center at 1600 EST on September 7th. The broad center was nearly 1000 miles west of the Lesser Antilles. At that time the depression was moving toward the west at 14 mph with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph. Within 12 hours the depression gained strength,…

5. Sep 13, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Carteret$27.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Category one Hurricane Ophelia, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, approached the North Carolina coast on the 13th. The hurricane remained offshore brushing the southern coastal counties of Onslow and Carteret on the 14th and 15th. Highest winds and damages occurred across this area where winds gusted to near 100 mph, and storm surges of up to 6 feet resulted in structural damages totaling near 35 million dollars. The highest surge was reported along the lower reaches of the Neuse River in southern Craven County where water levels rose to 8 feet, during the night of the 14th. Ophelia brushed by Outer Banks Hyde and Dare counties on the 16th with hurricane force wind gusts,…

6. Aug 26, 2011Hurricane (Typhoon), Carteret$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Across Carteret County...winds gusted above hurricane force with the highest reading at Cedar Island at 115 mph. High winds resulted in numerous trees and Power-lines down and structural damage. Surge values were 4 to 7 Feet, highest at South River, flooding numerous homes and Businesses. Heavy rainfall of 6 to 12 inches resulted in flooding of streets and low lying areas. Significant damage occurred to structures and crops.

7. Aug 26, 2011Storm Surge/Tide, Carteret$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds gusted above hurricane force with the highest reading, 115 mph, recorded at Cedar Island. Surges of 4 to 7 Feet, highest at South River, flooded numerous homes and Businesses with major structural damage.

8. Sep 17, 2003Hurricane (Typhoon), Carteret$16.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Isabel made landfall early in the afternoon on September 18th as a category two hurricane across Core Banks in extreme eastern Carteret county. Isabel moved north northwest near 20 mph across eastern North Carolina during the afternoon. Areas mainly near and east of the storm center experienced significant wind and storm surge effects. Major ocean overwash and beach erosion occurred along the North Carolina Outer Banks where waves up to 20 feet accompanied a 6 to 8 foot storm surge. Almost 350 million dollars in damage occurred in Dare county alone where several thousand homes and businesses, several piers, and sections of Highway 12 were damaged or washed away. Eastern…

9. Sep 1, 1999Tropical Storm, Carteret$6.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the evening of Tuesday, August 31st old Hurricane Dennis was downgraded to a Tropical Storm. By 0500 EDT Wednesday, September 1st Tropical Storm Dennis was located about 120 miles east of Cape Hatteras. The movement was nearly stationary with maximum sustained winds near 60 mph. By 1700 EDT Thursday, September 2nd the storm began moving slowly south with a position near 95 miles east southeast of Cape Hatteras. This trend continued until 1700 EDT Friday, September 3rd. Tropical Storm Dennis finally begin drifting, slowly west northwest. Landfall occurred on Saturday, September 4th around 1700 along the Core Banks just north of Cape Lookout. The storm then continued very slowly…

10. Nov 26, 2013Tornado$4.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    A waterspout moved ashore off Bogue Sound and produced a 200 yard wide EF1 tornado that tracked rapidly northeast across parts of Morehead City. The tornado first impacted the Carteret Community College with moderate structural damage to several buildings and numerous trees damaged. The tornado then lifted northeast producing minor damage to the Carteret General Hospital with several vehicles in the parking lot damaged. The tornado continued to track rapidly northeast across residential areas snapping or uprooting numerous trees, many that fell on homes producing minor to moderate damage. The tornado caused damage at Crab Point north of Morehead City before apparently moving over…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

103°FJun 30, 1959

All-time low

1°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

86°FAug 2, 2006

Coldest day

22°F2 times, most recently Dec 24, 1989

Wettest day

9.15 inSep 15, 2018

Snowiest day

22.0 inMar 3, 1980

Hottest year

1990mean 66.3°F

Coldest year

1968mean 60.5°F

Wettest year

201893.27 in

Driest year

196524.66 in

Station Morehead City 2 Wnw (USC00315830), 10 ft elevation, 0.4 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1948 to July 30, 2026; 96.9% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Carteret County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00315830.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.