North Carolina, 1998

Tornado in North Carolina, September 3, 1998

September 3, 1998 · NWS MHX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The remnants of Hurricane Earl moved rapidly across eastern North Carolina during the afternoon and evening of September 3rd. The first of two tornadoes spawned by this system developed over Emerald Isle on Bogue Banks in the Camp Ocean Forest area around 10:30 pm producing minor damage.

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
$50,000
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 remnants of Hurricane Earl moved rapidly across eastern North Carolina during the afternoon and evening of September 3rd. The first of two tornadoes spawned by this system developed over Emerald Isle on Bogue Banks in the Camp Ocean Forest area around 10:30 pm producing minor damage. Several storage sheds were overturned, a porch was destroyed and a mobile home was knocked off it's foundation. The tornado then crossed Bogue Sound and moved into the community of Bogue approximately 10:35 pm where the tornado moved across the Stone Gate subdivision where it again caused minor damage. Several pine trees were snapped off, and 10 to 15 mobile homes had underskirting partially missing. A camper shell was tore off a truck which was subsequently overturned and another camper unit was destroyed.

The radar

The Morehead City radar (KMHX), 21 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:32 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Carteret

When
September 3, 9:30 PM EST
Where
Carteret County, Cape Carteret to 3 mi of Bogue
Rating
F0
Path length
2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.650, -77.050

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, September 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: 5664614.