Historical record — not a forecast
Nags Head
Nags Head, NC has had 63 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1899, Category 2 Hurricane).
Location 01
Nags Head
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The historical record
Storm history
63 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Nags Head 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
- 4
- Tropical Storm
- 43
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 11
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 5
By decade
- 1850s
- 3
- 1860s
- 1
- 1880s
- 2
- 1890s
- 7
- 1900s
- 5
- 1910s
- 3
- 1920s
- 2
- 1930s
- 4
- 1940s
- 4
- 1950s
- 5
- 1960s
- 8
- 1970s
- 3
- 1980s
- 4
- 1990s
- 5
- 2000s
- 3
- 2010s
- 3
- 2020s
- 1
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1899, Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt) passed within 39.8 km in 1899
- Most recent
- Fay (2020, Tropical Storm, 40 kt) passed within 74.5 km in 2020
- Coordinates
- 35.94753, -75.62569
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Gloria (1985) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 51.0 km on 1985-09-27
- Unnamed storm (1899) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 39.8 km on 1899-08-18
- Arthur (2014) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 19.9 km on 2014-07-04
- Unnamed storm (1936) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 74.5 km on 1936-09-18
- Unnamed storm (1933) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 58.8 km on 1933-09-16
- Unnamed storm (1933) — Category 1 Hurricane, 80 kt, passed within 16.6 km on 1933-08-23
- Bonnie (1998) — Category 1 Hurricane, 75 kt, passed within 29.7 km on 1998-08-28
- Connie (1955) — Category 1 Hurricane, 75 kt, passed within 57.9 km on 1955-08-13
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 3.0 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 10.9 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- none on record
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Nags Head?
Since 1851, 63 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Nags Head, NC, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Nags Head?
an unnamed storm (1899, Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt) passed within 39.8 km in 1899, reaching Category 2 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Nags Head?
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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