High Wind, Wake
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Wake forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.790, -78.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in North Carolina, February 16, 1998
Strong winds with gusts to 35 mph were common across central North Carolina during the night of the 16th and into the morning hours of the 17th. The strongest gust was recorded at Goldsboro (52 mph).
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 31 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 31
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 RAH wrote it up.
Strong winds with gusts to 35 mph were common across central North Carolina during the night of the 16th and into the morning hours of the 17th. The strongest gust was recorded at Goldsboro (52 mph). Several trees were downed in almost all of the counties in central North Carolina from Winston-Salem to Raleigh/Durham to Goldsboro and Rocky Mount. A combination of the wind and very soggy soils led to many of the trees to fall. Several homes were damaged in Sampson, Wayne, Wake, and Cumberland counties.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
31 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Alamance
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Alamance forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.044, -79.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Anson
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Anson forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 34.974, -80.103 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Chatham
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Chatham forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.703, -79.255 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Cumberland
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Cumberland forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.049, -78.827 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Davidson
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Davidson forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.793, -80.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Durham
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Durham forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.036, -78.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Edgecombe
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Edgecombe forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.913, -77.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Forsyth
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Forsyth forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.131, -80.256 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Franklin
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.083, -78.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Granville
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Granville forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.304, -78.653 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Guilford
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Guilford forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.080, -79.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Halifax
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Halifax forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.258, -77.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Harnett
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Harnett forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.369, -78.869 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Hoke
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Hoke forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.017, -79.237 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Johnston
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Johnston forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.518, -78.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Lee
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Lee forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.475, -79.171 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Montgomery
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Montgomery forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.333, -79.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Moore
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Moore forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.311, -79.481 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Nash
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Nash forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.967, -77.986 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Orange
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Orange forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.061, -79.121 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Person
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Person forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.390, -78.972 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Randolph
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Randolph forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.710, -79.806 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Richmond
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Richmond forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.006, -79.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Sampson
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Sampson forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 34.992, -78.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Scotland
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Scotland forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 34.841, -79.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Stanly
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Stanly forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.312, -80.251 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Vance
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Vance forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.365, -78.408 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Warren
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Warren forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 36.397, -78.107 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Wayne
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Wayne forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.364, -78.004 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Wilson
- When
- February 16, 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Wilson forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.705, -77.919 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, February 16, 1998
- Flooding in Florida, February 16, 1998
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Florida, February 16, 1998
- Flood in Florida, February 16 to 25, 1998
- Flood in Florida, February 16 to 25, 1998
- Tornado in Florida, February 16, 1998
- High Wind in Virginia, February 16 to 17, 1998
- Tornado in Florida, February 16, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, February 16, 1998
- Tornado in Florida, February 16, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, February 16, 1998
- Tornado in Florida, February 16, 1998
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, February 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: 5632004, 5632005, 5632006, 5632007, 5632008, 5632009, 5632010, 5632011, 5632012, 5632013, 5632014, 5632015, 5632016, 5632017, 5632018, 5632019, 5632020, 5632021, 5632022, 5632023, 5632024, 5632025, 5632026, 5632027, 5632028, 5632029, 5632030, 5632031, 5632155, 5632156, 5632157.