North Carolina, 1998

Tornado in North Carolina, August 26, 1998

August 26, 1998 · NWS MHX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The most destructive of the tornadoes assciated with Hurricane Bonnie started out as a waterspout then came ashore as a tornodo on Privers Island about 1/2 mile west of the city of Beaufort. The tornodo extensively damaged 3 buildings at the Duke Marine Lab.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$225,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS MHX wrote it up.

The most destructive of the tornadoes assciated with Hurricane Bonnie started out as a waterspout then came ashore as a tornodo on Privers Island about 1/2 mile west of the city of Beaufort. The tornodo extensively damaged 3 buildings at the Duke Marine Lab. It completely destroyed an old dormitory lding which was a double wide mobile home bricked over. Debris from the destroyed building caused severe damgage to an adjacent library and broke windows in a nearby research laboratory. A large truck located on the premises was also destroyed.

The radar

The Morehead City radar (KMHX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:24 UTC.

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Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Carteret

When
August 26, 12:25 PM EST to 12:28 PM EST
Where
Carteret County, 1 mi W of Beaufort
Rating
F1
Path length
0.3 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$225,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
34.720, -76.670

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Carolina, 1998Warnings in North Carolina, August 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5660948.