Historical record — not a forecast
Morehead City
Morehead City, NC has had 75 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1879, Category 3 Hurricane).
Location 01
Morehead City
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The historical record
Storm history
75 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Morehead City since 1851, based on NOAA’s HURDAT2 best-track data (1851-2025). Atlantic storm counts before the mid-20th century undercount storms that stayed at sea; aircraft reconnaissance began in the 1940s and systematic satellite coverage in 1966. Storms that struck populated coastline are the most reliably recorded part of the record.
By storm category
- Tropical Depression
- 12
- Tropical Storm
- 35
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 17
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 10
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1850s
- 3
- 1860s
- 3
- 1870s
- 2
- 1880s
- 4
- 1890s
- 3
- 1900s
- 5
- 1910s
- 5
- 1920s
- 1
- 1930s
- 2
- 1940s
- 4
- 1950s
- 6
- 1960s
- 7
- 1970s
- 6
- 1980s
- 4
- 1990s
- 3
- 2000s
- 7
- 2010s
- 8
- 2020s
- 2
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1879, Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt) passed within 25.9 km in 1879
- Most recent
- Ophelia (2023, Tropical Storm, 60 kt) passed within 33.1 km in 2023
- Coordinates
- 34.72789, -76.73909
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Unnamed storm (1879) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 25.9 km on 1879-08-18
- Dorian (2019) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 71.4 km on 2019-09-06
- Isabel (2003) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 51.7 km on 2003-09-18
- Donna (1960) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 41.5 km on 1960-09-12
- Ione (1955) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 4.7 km on 1955-09-19
- Unnamed storm (1878) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 33.9 km on 1878-10-23
- Florence (2018) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 72.3 km on 2018-09-14
- Arthur (2014) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 13.1 km on 2014-07-04
Historical return intervals
These are plain historical averages — years of record divided by how many times a storm of that strength has passed within 75 km. They are not a probability or a forecast of a future storm; they describe how often storms of each strength have occurred in the past.
- Tropical storm strength or greater
- on average every 2.8 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 6.2 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- on average every 175.0 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Morehead City?
Since 1851, 75 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Morehead City, NC, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Morehead City?
an unnamed storm (1879, Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt) passed within 25.9 km in 1879, reaching Category 3 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Morehead City?
No. This page presents only historical, already-occurred storm data. It contains no forecast, prediction, or safety or evacuation guidance. Return-interval figures above are historical averages, not a probability of a future storm. See our methodology.
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