Hurricane Florence (2018)

Basin

North Atlantic

Dates

August 30, 2018 to September 18, 2018

Peak strength

Category 4, 130 kt (150 mph)

Lowest pressure

937 mb (27.67 inHg)

Landfall

Yes

Accumulated cyclone energy

39.7

Tropical-storm-force wind reached

170 nmi (315 km, 196 mi) from the center at its widest

Hurricane-force wind reached

70 nmi (130 km, 81 mi) from the center at its widest

Eyewall radius at its peak

10 nmi (19 km, 12 mi)

Overall size

360 nmi (667 km, 414 mi) to the outermost closed isobar

Peak gust in the best track

145 kt (167 mph)

Fastest the center moved

33 kt (38 mph)

Identifier

AL062018

Radar at KLTX as it neared land, Sep 14, 11:15 UTC

The sources count different things and are not added together.

Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.

NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.

Deaths

29 (16 direct, 13 indirect)

Injuries

2

Property damage

$1.9 billion

Crop damage

$430 million

Events recorded

456 in 20 reports from 8 states and marine areas

State by state

What was recorded

196 flash flood, 86 tropical storm, 81 flood, 32 tornado, 16 heavy rain, 13 strong wind, 10 hurricane (typhoon), 7 thunderstorm wind, 5 tropical depression, 3 high surf, 2 coastal flood, 2 rip current, 1 high wind, 1 lightning, 1 debris flow.

32 tornadoes recorded in the United States, strongest first.

The Weather Prediction Center attributes 4,161 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 35.93 inches (913 mm).

WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.

The strongest winds National Weather Service offices recorded with this storm. An estimated figure is a forecaster’s judgment from the damage, not an instrument reading.

From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.

Four people were pulled seaward within a strong rip current at New Smyrna Beach. Life Guards rescued them, but one person was floating unconscious and unresponsive when contact was made. Fire Rescue personnel performed life-saving efforts on the 64-year old man from the nearby town of Edgewater before he was taken to a hospital, where he died. The incident occurred in unguarded water about 300 yards south of an open life guard tower.

Volusia, Florida · Rip Current · Sep 9, 16:30 UTC

A 10 year old boy and 24 year old male from Orlando were playing in rough surf at Playalinda Beach in Brevard County. A strong rip current, enhanced by swell from distant Hurricane Florence pulled the two individuals seaward and the 24 year old disappeared under the surf. The boy's father and the girlfriend of the young man rushed into the water, where they found the man unresponsive. A surfer and paddleboarder helped bring everyone to shore. The man died from drowning.

Brevard, Florida · Rip Current · Sep 10, 20:05 UTC

Widespread heavy rain and strong winds developed over the region from the morning of September 13th through the morning of September 16th. Rainfall was generally 11��� to 20��� over the county with a storm total of 18.92��� in Kinston. Extremely heavy rainfall across the county initially lead to flash flooding with numerous roads that were impassable. The Neuse River at Kinston crested at 25.78 feet on the 21st, ranking third highest all time behind hurricanes Matthew and Floyd. US 70 was closed in Kinston for several days as flood waters inundated numerous homes and businesses on the south side of Kinston. Gusty northeast winds developed ahead of Florence as the storm approached the coast, with a peak wind gust of 46 mph in Kinston at 1205 AM LST on September 14th. The gusty winds combined with saturated ground led to many downed trees with widespread power outages.

Lenoir, North Carolina · Tropical Storm · Sep 13, 13:00 UTC

Scattered trees were reported down across Berkeley County due to Tropical Storm Florence. South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a tree down at the intersection of Highway 41 and Yellow Jacket Road as well as another tree down blocking the road at the intersection of Highway 17A and Turtle Pond Road. A large tree was blown down in the Sedgefield neighborhood. Trees were reported down on power lines along Highway 311. A tree was reported down near the intersection of Highway 41 and Bethera Road. Another tree was reported down in the Center Lake neighborhood.

Inland Berkeley, South Carolina · Tropical Depression · Sep 14, 18:00 UTC

A tornado touched down near Pleasant Hill in association with hurricane Florence. The damage path started along Vine Swamps Road over the extreme western part of Jones County. The beginning time and location was adjusted based on radar due to the inability to access areas east of here. Damage consisted of softwood trees uprooted in the opposite direction of storm motion along with some minor shingle damage. More damage was found just west of highway 258 near Zack Howard Road where a large tree was uprooted and again in the opposite direction of the storm motion. Most of the damage was quite sporadic on the path and was not as concentrated as other storms surveyed thus far. Therefore the wind speed was estimated to be between 75 and 85 mph, mainly due to the uprooted softwood trees and minor shingle loss. The time was estimated based on radar data.

Jones, North Carolina · Tornado · Sep 15, 01:40 UTC

A tornado touched down near SR 17-198 just south of Vicksburg Drive, and skipped north along the east side of West Country Club Road. Several large limbs were were broken out of tree tops, along with a few snapped small pine trees and hardwoods. Additional minor tree damage was observed on the east side of Oscar Drive to near the intersection with Harlees Bridge Road, where several limbs were broken from the tops of oak trees.

Dillon, South Carolina · Tornado · Sep 16, 19:48 UTC

Patrick County was declared a Major Disaster under the Presidential Declaration. Calls to 911 dispatch about flooding began shortly 1250 AM EST with water reported near some homes Riverside Drive along Poorhouse Creek in Stuart. At the same time water was also over the road on portions of Jeb Stuart Highway (Route 58) just north of Stuart. Several other roads were later reported closed with up to 1.5 feet of water flowing across Jacks Creek Road. The river gage on the Smith River near Woolwine (SMWV2) gage showed a rise in less than six hours to a crest of 12.35 feet, Minor flood stage is 9 feet and Moderate flood stage 11 feet. This was the 2nd highest reading at this gage since data started there in 1995 and was roughly a 5-10 year annual recurrence interval (0.20 to 0.10 annual exceedance probability).

Patrick, Virginia · Flash Flood · Sep 17, 06:00 UTC

Roanoke County was included in the Presidential Major Disaster declaration with significant damage to roads and other structures. Route 744E from Bottom Creek Road to Bent Mountain Road was closed due to a washout. Radar estimated 4 to 6 inches of rain over the southwest part of the county in the 24- hours ending 1200z (700 AM local time) and several IFLOWS rain gages had 4+ inches including 4.40 inches at Witt's Orchard (WITV2) and 4.21 inches at Poor Mtn. (POOV2). The areal extent of flooding was adjusted per runoff from the CREST hydrologic model.

Roanoke, Virginia · Flash Flood · Sep 17, 09:01 UTC

The stream gage on the Patapsco River at Elkridge exceeded the 16 foot flood stage during the indicated period. Hammonds Ferry Road flooded and was closed at the Patapsco River. Backwater flooding led to the closure of Furnace Avenue in Elkridge. The peak level of 18.72 feet occurred at 3:25 AM.

Anne Arundel, Maryland · Flood · Sep 18, 05:52 UTC

The USGS stream gage on East Branch Herbert Run near Arbutus rapidly exceeded the 7 foot flood stage during the short period indicated. It rose a foot over flood stage within 20 minutes, peaking at 8.02 feet at 1:35 am EST. Yards near the stream flooded, with water up to the top of the culvert at Sulphur Spring Road.

Baltimore, Maryland · Flash Flood · Sep 18, 06:14 UTC

At 9:24 AM EST, the Hadley Police Department closed the eastbound lanes of State Route 9 near the University of Massachusetts due to flooding. Local media also reported that University Drive in the adjacent part of Amherst was flooded.

Hampshire, Massachusetts · Flash Flood · Sep 18, 13:01 UTC

At 10:08 AM EST, a microburst downed trees in Saugus along a one-mile path from the western side of Riverside Cemetery to Ballard Street. This path is roughly parallel to Winter Street. The maximum width of this microburst was approximately 250 yards. Several trees were reported down in Riverside Cemetery. Several trees were down on Riverside Park and Victoria Street. Several trees were down on Riverside Court. A tree and wires were down on Ballard Street.

Essex, Massachusetts · Thunderstorm Wind · Sep 18, 15:08 UTC

The water level along the Shenandoah River at Milleville surpassed the flood stage of 10 feet, cresting at 13.5 feet on September 19th at 5:15 AM. Water reached the river access at Wagon Trail Place near Harpers Ferry, and completely covered the parking lot of the lower boat ramp at Millville Dam. Portions of the Cool Spring Battlefield were also flooded. A small portion of Wilt Road (County Road 9/8) was flooded. Water also flowed over Millville Dam. Parts of Bloomery Road and John Rissler Road were flooded near Bloomery, West Virginia. Once these roads flood, access to homes is impaired. Moulton Park and the Millville boat launch were also flooded.

Jefferson, West Virginia · Flood · Sep 18, 21:54 UTC

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A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.

• Tropical cyclone report, National Hurricane Center
• Every advisory and discussion NHC issued while it was live
• Best track as KMZ, National Hurricane Center
• Best track as a shapefile, National Hurricane Center
• Wikipedia article: Hurricane Florence