Historical record — not a forecast
New Bern
New Bern, NC has had 64 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1879, Category 3 Hurricane).
Location 01
New Bern
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The historical record
Storm history
64 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of New Bern 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
- 10
- Tropical Storm
- 33
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 14
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 6
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1850s
- 3
- 1860s
- 3
- 1870s
- 3
- 1880s
- 5
- 1890s
- 3
- 1900s
- 4
- 1910s
- 3
- 1930s
- 1
- 1940s
- 5
- 1950s
- 5
- 1960s
- 5
- 1970s
- 6
- 1980s
- 3
- 1990s
- 4
- 2000s
- 5
- 2010s
- 5
- 2020s
- 1
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1879, Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt) passed within 70.4 km in 1879
- Most recent
- Ophelia (2023, Tropical Storm, 60 kt) passed within 2.7 km in 2023
- Coordinates
- 35.09271, -77.07177
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Unnamed storm (1879) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 70.4 km on 1879-08-18
- Donna (1960) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 33.8 km on 1960-09-12
- Ione (1955) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 40.9 km on 1955-09-19
- Unnamed storm (1878) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 32.6 km on 1878-10-23
- Arthur (2014) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 61.3 km on 2014-07-04
- Isabel (2003) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 61.1 km on 2003-09-18
- Connie (1955) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 44.2 km on 1955-08-12
- Irene (2011) — Category 1 Hurricane, 75 kt, passed within 61.3 km on 2011-08-27
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 3.2 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 8.3 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- on average every 175.0 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near New Bern?
Since 1851, 64 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of New Bern, NC, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect New Bern?
an unnamed storm (1879, Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt) passed within 70.4 km in 1879, reaching Category 3 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for New Bern?
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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