Hurricane in North Carolina, August 26 to 28, 1998

Hurricane Bonnie, a minimal Catagory III Hurricane approached the coast of North Carolina on August 26th. The slow moving hurricane initially crossed Cape Fear during the late afternoon on the 26th, then pivoted northeast along the North Carolina coast during the evening. With part of the circulation center on land, the storm weakened to Catagory I storm in the early morning hours of the 27th before making landfall near the Onslow/Pender county line. The storm then continued to move slowly northeast at speeds of 10 mph or less. Bonnie was downgraded to a Tropical Storm during the afternoon of the 27th but later was reclassified as a Hurricane as she moved off Kitty Hawk late in the evening. Bonnie was a unique storm in that the strongest winds were not located around the center of circulation like a typical hurricane but encompassed a large area in the eastern semi-circle. The most damaging winds were contained in the precursor rain bands where localized downbursts produced siginficant damage...especially along the coast of Carteret county which appeared to sustain the most damage from the storm. The slow movement of the storm contributed to excessive rainfall amounts with totals of 7-10 inches common across eastern North Carolina. Since much of the region had experienced below normal rainfall during the summer months, the resulting flood was not as damaging as it could have been. The Southeast Cape Fear River in Duplin county had the most significant flooding with areas near Chinquapin reporting high water. Elsewhere flooding of poor drainage and low lying areas predominated. Coastal/Storm surge flooding was not as extensive as with Huuricanes Fran or Bertha but several locations did report significant problems. The hardest hit area was Belhaven where storm surge flooding along the Pungo River flooded 2/3rds of the homes in the area with water levels as high as 6 ft above normal. Other coastal flooding was reported in Manns Harbor and Stumpy Point in Dare county, Washington in Beaufort county, Near Hobucken in Pamlico county, Swansboro in Onslow county and along the south shore of the Albemarle sound in Washington and Tyrrell counties. Many docks, piers and bulkheads were damaged or destroyed by the storm. Along the Outer Banks, soundside flooding from the Pamlico Sound late on the 27th and early on the 28th produced water levels 4-6 feet above normal in Manteo on Roanoke Island and over portions of Hatteras Island where Route 12 was closed briefly due to high water. Storm surge at the beaches of Onslow and Carteret counties was generally 3-5 feet above normal with moderate beach erosion. North Topsail Beach lost most of the protective dunes constructed after the hurricanes of 1996. Tens of thousands of tires, part of an artificial reef, washed up on the shore of Bogue Banks. Wind damage was greatest along Bogue Banks where two hotels and one department store lost roofs. The Iron Steamer and Indian Beach piers sustained significant damage losing large sections due to the combination of wind and rough surf. The hurricane also produced 7 confirmed tornadoes during the afternoon and evening of the 26th. The heavy rains and strong winds also led to significant crop damage with Onslow county reporting over 110 million dollars in damages. Several minor injuries but no loss of life were reported during the storm.