Hyde County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Hyde County: 0.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 26, 2011Storm Surge/Tide, Western Hyde$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds gusting above hurricane force resulted in sound-side storm surge of 5 to 6 feet with minor to moderate structural damage.

2. Sep 13, 2018Tropical Storm, Western Hyde$13.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread heavy rain and strong winds developed over the region from the morning of September 13th through the evening of September 15th. Rainfall was generally 3��� to 5��� over the county with a storm total of 4.36��� at Swan Quarter. Gusty northeast winds developed ahead of Florence as the storm approached the coast, with a peak wind gust of 46 mph in Hyde County Airport at 505 PM LST on September 13th. The gusty winds combined with saturated ground led to some downed trees and power outages.

3. Aug 26, 2011Hurricane (Typhoon), Eastern Hyde$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Across Eastern Hyde County...winds gusted above hurricane force resulting in numerous tress and power-lines down with extensive power outages and minor to moderate structural damage. Storm total rainfall of 7 to 8 inches caused flooding of roads low lying areas. Sound-side storm surge on Mainland Hyde county was 5 to 6 feet. Total water level rises, including wave action, of 11 to 14 feet resulted in several dune breaches across highway 12 in Ocracoke. Sound-side surge was minimal Up to 2 feet. A mandatory evacuation was ordered for all residents and visitors on the 24th. Significant damage occurred to structures.|Across Greene county...winds gusted to 50 to 60 mph resulting in…

4. Aug 3, 2004Hurricane (Typhoon), Eastern Hyde$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Alex, a category two storm with 100 mph sustained winds, brushed the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the late morning to early afternoon hours on August 3rd. The most significant impacts occurred along the Outer Banks from Ocracoke to Buxton where winds gusted to near 100 mph and soundside flooding was estimated between 4 to 6 feet. Winds and storm surge resulted in damage to over 100 homes and businesses. Nearly 500 cars were completely flooded on Ocracoke, and in the Hatteras Village area with damage estimated near 7.5 million dollars. Storm surge along the coast, along the lower reaches of the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers, and across other counties adjacent to the…

5. Aug 26, 2011Hurricane (Typhoon), Western Hyde$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Across Western Hyde County...winds gusted above hurricane force resulting in numerous trees and power-lines down causing extensive power outages, minor to moderate structural damage, and significant crop damage. Storm total rainfall of 7 to 8 inches caused flooding of roads low lying areas.

6. Jul 12, 1996Hurricane (Typhoon), Western Hyde$500,000
   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.…

7. Sep 3, 1998Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The second and strongest of the two tornadoes produced by the remnants of Hurricane Earl only touched down for an instant, but not before it destroyed one house and severely damaged another. An eyewitness in a nearby rental cottage reported hearing a loud noise in the direction of the house and a saw a tornado touch down and lift the building 20-25 feet off it's foundation, at which point the home exploded. The storm then struck another house causing roof damage.

8. Oct 28, 2012Storm Surge/Tide, Eastern Hyde$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Maximum wind gusts were estimated from 50 mph in mainland Hyde County to 60 mph in Outer Banks Hyde County. Storm surge ranged from 1 foot across mainland Hyde County in Engelhard to 3 feet sound-side in Ocracoke. Minor to moderate beach erosion occurred due to large breaking waves. Several homes were flooded due to sound-side surge. Damages were estimated at one hundred thousand dollars due to storm surge.

9. Sep 10, 2002Tropical Storm, Eastern Hyde$55,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Storm Gustav passed just offshore of the Outer Banks of North Carolina on September 10th. Winds up to 78 mph were reported by the Coastal Guard at Cape Hatteras, 74mph were recorded at Ocracoke and 60 mph were recorded at Cedar Island. Storm surge of 4 feet occurred at Cedar Island where Ocracoke and Hatteras Village experienced a surge of 5 to 6 feet with the strong northwest winds. Portions of Highway 12 from Rodanthe south to Ocracoke were over washed by 10 to 15 foot ocean swells. Minor flooding damage was reported in several businesses in and around Ocracoke and Hatteras Village.

10. Jun 3, 1998Hail$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A line of thunderstorms moved across eastern areas of the state producing widespread large hail. Martin county was especially hard hit where much of the tobacco crop was damaged. In Kinston, car dealers reported over a half million dollars worth of damage to vehicles. On Ocracoke Island, the hail was the largest seen in many generations.

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

96°FJul 10, 1992

All-time low

6°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

83°F11 times, most recently Aug 3, 2020

Coldest day

17°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

8.69 inAug 30, 1999

Snowiest day

12.0 inJan 23, 2003

Hottest year

2020mean 66.8°F

Coldest year

1958mean 60.0°F

Wettest year

198990.84 in

Driest year

200129.46 in

Snowiest season

13.5 in1989-90

Station Cape Hatteras - Billy Mitchell (USW00093729), 12 ft elevation, 35.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1957 to October 26, 2026; 99.7% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00093729.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, 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.
• 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.