HurricaneTracker.ai

    2026 Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30.

    Wilmington and Cape Fear Hurricane Tracker

    The Cape Fear coast is the most frequently hit stretch of North Carolina, and the last three hurricanes all came ashore within 30 miles of Wilmington. Hurricane Florence on September 14, 2018 made landfall at Wrightsville Beach as a Category 1, then stalled for three days and dropped a state-record 35.93 inches near Elizabethtown. I-40, US 17, US 74, and US 421 all flooded, Wilmington was an island for days, and the Cape Fear and Northeast Cape Fear rivers crested a week after landfall. Hurricane Isaias on August 3, 2020 came ashore at Ocean Isle Beach as a Category 1 and set the downtown Wilmington river gauge record at 9.03 feet, with an EF-2 tornado at Bald Head and Southport.

    Hurricane Fran in 1996 crossed the Cape Fear as a Category 3 and was still doing hurricane damage in Raleigh. Hurricane Hazel in 1954, a Category 4 at Calabash, is the storm the Brunswick beaches are still measured against. No hurricane made a US landfall in 2025, but Tropical Storm Chantal crossed the region on July 6, 2025 after a Litchfield Beach landfall and went on to kill six people in flooding around Chapel Hill. The lesson on the Cape Fear coast is that the rivers, not the wind, are what cut Wilmington off, and the danger arrives days after the storm passes.

    Radar

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    Composite radar, Wilmington and the Cape Fear coast.

    Evacuation zones for the Cape Fear coast

    New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender counties use lettered zones through the state Know Your Zone program and issue their own orders. The beach towns are the first zones called: Wrightsville, Carolina, Kure, Bald Head, Oak Island, Holden, Ocean Isle, Sunset, and Topsail. Orders come from each county's emergency management agency and are issued zone by zone as a storm approaches.

    Local emergency management, shelters, rivers and outages

    Each county's emergency management office posts evacuation orders, shelter openings, and re-entry information. The Cape Fear River gauge at downtown Wilmington is the number to watch after a heavy-rain storm, because it crests days after landfall and cuts the roads when it does. The beach towns issue re-entry decals that visitors do not receive.

    What the Cape Fear coast should watch for

    Forward speed matters as much as category. Florence at 2 to 3 mph was a rain disaster that cut the city off for days; a fast Category 2 moving through at 20 mph is a different and smaller problem. When the forecast shows a slow storm over the Cape Fear, plan for river flooding, not just wind.

    The river crest timing is the real danger. The Cape Fear and Northeast Cape Fear crest at Wilmington and Burgaw four to seven days after landfall, and when they do they cut the roads out of the city. I-40, US 17, US 74/76, and US 421 all cross river or swamp and all flooded at once in Florence. Watch the river gauges at water.noaa.gov for days after the storm passes.

    The drawbridges and causeways to the beaches close at sustained 40 mph, which is the last way back to the mainland from Wrightsville, Carolina, Kure, and Topsail. If you are on a barrier island and wait for the evacuation order, the bridges may already be closed.

    The neighborhoods that flood first are downtown along the riverwalk, the Northeast Cape Fear communities in Pender, Boiling Spring Lakes, and the Brunswick beaches on the sound side. Re-entry is the last piece: the beach towns close to everyone without a decal after an evacuation, and visitors do not get one. Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, and Kure Beach each issue decals to property owners before the season.

    Frequently asked questions

    Is Wilmington in an evacuation zone?

    The beaches and the river and sound shores are in the first zones called. Most of the city inland of Market Street is not. New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender counties use lettered zones through the state Know Your Zone program, and the beach towns from Wrightsville to Ocean Isle are the first ordered out. Look up your address with the state Know Your Zone tool above, because orders come by zone letter, not by city.

    Where are the shelters in Wilmington?

    New Hanover County pre-designates five school shelters and posts their live status on its emergency portal: Johnson Pre-K, Trask Middle, Codington Elementary, Eaton Elementary, and Noble Middle. Brunswick and Pender counties announce shelters on a storm-by-storm basis. Pet-friendly shelters have limited space and require advance registration and proof of vaccinations.

    When was the last hurricane to hit Wilmington?

    Hurricane Isaias made landfall at Ocean Isle Beach on August 3, 2020 as a Category 1 and set the downtown Wilmington river gauge record at 9.03 feet. Hurricane Florence in September 2018 was the last major disaster, making landfall at Wrightsville Beach and dropping a state-record 35.93 inches near Elizabethtown. No hurricane made a US landfall in 2025; Tropical Storm Chantal crossed the region on July 6, 2025.

    Why did Wilmington get cut off in Florence?

    Every highway into the city crosses a river or swamp that flooded when the Cape Fear and Northeast Cape Fear rivers crested four to seven days after landfall. I-40, US 17, US 74/76, and US 421 were all closed at once, and Wilmington was effectively an island for days. River crest timing, not wind, is the danger on the Cape Fear coast, and it comes after the sun is out.

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