North Carolina Hurricane Tracker
North Carolina sticks 100 miles farther into the Atlantic than any other East Coast state, which is why the Outer Banks get brushed or hit almost every season. Hurricane Isabel in 2003 cut a new inlet through Hatteras, Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Hurricane Dorian in 2019 flooded Ocracoke from the sound side, and NC-12, the only road, washes out in most major storms. But the deaths in North Carolina come from water inland, days after landfall. Hurricane Floyd in 1999 flooded the Tar and Neuse basins, drowned Princeville and Rocky Mount, and killed 35. Hurricane Matthew in 2016 did it again in Lumberton and Princeville. Hurricane Florence in 2018 came ashore at Wrightsville Beach as a Category 1, stalled, dropped a state-record 35.93 inches at Elizabethtown, turned Wilmington into an island for days, and killed more than 40.
Then Hurricane Helene in September 2024 put a mountain range on the list. Its remnants stalled over the Blue Ridge and dropped 20 to 30 inches on ground already saturated, the Swannanoa and French Broad rivers rose 20-plus feet, Chimney Rock and parts of Swannanoa were erased, I-40 collapsed into the Pigeon River gorge, and 107 people died in western North Carolina, 42 of them in Buncombe County, most in places that had never been mapped as flood zones. Asheville had no drinking water for seven weeks. The state's hurricane risk is now the coast, the coastal plain rivers, and the mountains, and all three fail differently.
Hurricane Erin in August 2025 never made landfall but forced the evacuation of about 80,000 people from Hatteras Island and Ocracoke, breached the dunes on Pea Island, and closed NC-12 for four days. Swells from Humberto and Imelda a month later dropped five Buxton houses into the ocean in a single day.
Radar
Composite radar, North Carolina.
Wind
ECMWF wind forecast, North Carolina.
Know Your Evacuation Zone
North Carolina's 21 coastal counties use lettered pre-defined evacuation zones through the state's Know Your Zone program, and orders are issued by county. Zone A, the lowest and most surge exposed, is evacuated first. On the Outer Banks, Dare and Hyde counties evacuate visitors first, then residents, and Ocracoke can only be emptied by ferry, so its orders come earliest. NC-12 and the Bonner and Oregon Inlet bridges close at sustained winds around 45 mph.
County Emergency Management
The coastal counties, the coastal plain river counties that flood days after landfall, and the mountain counties hit by Helene. Your county emergency management office posts local evacuation orders, shelter openings, and re-entry information.
Metro pages
Wilmington and the Cape Fear coast
Local radar, evacuation routes, and county links.
Outer Banks
Local radar, evacuation routes, and county links.
New Bern and the Crystal Coast
Coming soon
Asheville and Western North Carolina
Coming soon
Raleigh and the Triangle
Coming soon
North Carolina-specific prep
River crest timing is the lesson North Carolina keeps relearning. In Floyd, Matthew, and Florence the rivers crested 3 to 7 days after landfall, so the danger in Lumberton, Kinston, Goldsboro, and Princeville comes after the storm has passed and the sun is out. Know your river gauge at water.noaa.gov before a storm arrives, and do not return to a flooded area just because the rain has stopped.
The mountains are a different disaster. After Helene, flash floods and landslides hit homes far above any mapped flood zone. If you live in a hollow, on a creek, or below a steep slope in western North Carolina, plan to be self-sufficient for a week with no cell service, no power, and no passable roads. Treat a tropical rain forecast of 10-plus inches as an evacuation trigger, not a wait-and-see signal, because the terrain turns heavy rain into moving water faster than anywhere else on the East Coast.
On the coast, standard homeowners policies in the 18 coastal counties often exclude wind and hail. Wind coverage comes through the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association, known as the Beach Plan or Coastal Property Insurance Pool, the state insurer of last resort for those areas. Binding is suspended once a hurricane watch is issued, so coverage must be in place before a storm threatens.
Flood damage from storm surge, river flooding, or mountain flash floods is not covered by standard homeowners or wind policies. You need a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy, which has a 30-day waiting period. Most Helene and Florence flood victims had no flood insurance because they were outside mapped flood zones, which is exactly why the 30-day rule matters: buy it in May, not when a storm is in the Gulf.
North Carolina has no hurricane supplies sales tax holiday, so buy your batteries, water, fuel containers, and tarps early, before the shelves empty in late May. Pet-friendly shelters are listed at readync.gov when they open. After a coastal evacuation, Dare County and the beach towns issue re-entry permits in tiers, with residents and businesses first; visitors do not receive re-entry permits and should plan to stay inland until the all-clear.
The Outer Banks have a chronic erosion problem independent of any single storm. Houses at Rodanthe have collapsed into the ocean during ordinary nor'easters, so an oceanfront rental there can be lost in a moderate storm, not just a major one. If you book an Outer Banks rental for the season, know the evacuation route off the island before you arrive and keep your belongings packed to leave quickly.
Frequently asked questions
Does North Carolina have hurricane evacuation zones?
Yes. Twenty-one coastal counties use lettered pre-defined evacuation zones through the state's Know Your Zone program, with Zone A evacuated first. Orders are issued by county. Inland and mountain counties do not have lettered zones and evacuate by area when needed. Look yours up at knowyourzone.nc.gov.
How do you evacuate the Outer Banks?
North on NC-12 and US-158 across the Wright Memorial Bridge, or west on US-64 across the Alligator River. Ocracoke can only be reached by ferry, which is why it is ordered first. Visitors are ordered out before residents. NC-12 and the Bonner and Oregon Inlet bridges close at sustained winds around 45 mph, so leaving early is the only reliable option.
When was the last hurricane to hit North Carolina?
No hurricane made landfall in North Carolina in 2025. Tropical Storm Chantal crossed the state on July 6, 2025 and killed six people in flooding around Chapel Hill and Durham. The last hurricane landfall on the North Carolina coast remains Isaias at Ocean Isle Beach in August 2020. Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina in September 2024 as a tropical storm remnant, killing 107 people.
Why do North Carolina rivers flood days after a hurricane?
Rain falls across the whole coastal plain and drains into the Tar, Neuse, Cape Fear, and Lumber rivers, which crest downstream 3 to 7 days later. In Floyd in 1999, Matthew in 2016, and Florence in 2018, the worst flooding in Lumberton, Kinston, Goldsboro, and Princeville came almost a week after landfall, after the sun was back out. Know your river gauge at water.noaa.gov before the storm arrives.
Are the North Carolina mountains at risk from hurricanes?
Yes. Helene killed 107 people in western North Carolina, 42 of them in Buncombe County, from flash flooding and landslides, more than any coastal storm in the state's modern history. Rain stalled over the Blue Ridge on already-saturated ground, the Swannanoa and French Broad rivers rose more than 20 feet, and Asheville had no drinking water for seven weeks. If you live in a hollow, on a creek, or below a steep slope, treat a 10-plus inch rain forecast as an evacuation trigger.
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Neighboring states
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