Hurricane Isabel made landfall early in the afternoon on September 18th as a category two hurricane across Core Banks in extreme eastern Carteret county. Isabel moved north northwest near 20 mph across eastern North Carolina during the afternoon.
Every event with a place to put it; 12 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MHX wrote it up.
Hurricane Isabel made landfall early in the afternoon on September 18th as a category two hurricane across Core Banks in extreme eastern Carteret county. Isabel moved north northwest near 20 mph across eastern North Carolina during the afternoon. Areas mainly near and east of the storm center experienced significant wind and storm surge effects. Major ocean overwash and beach erosion occurred along the North Carolina Outer Banks where waves up to 20 feet accompanied a 6 to 8 foot storm surge. Almost 350 million dollars in damage occurred in Dare county alone where several thousand homes and businesses, several piers, and sections of Highway 12 were damaged or washed away. Eastern Carteret, eastern Pamlico, southern Craven, Beaufort, and Hyde counties experienced significant storm surge damage with hundreds of homes flooded in most of these counties. The highest storm surges were experienced in the lower reaches of the Neuse River where water levels rose to as high as 10.5 feet at the mouth of Adams Creek. Storm surge values ranged from 6 to 10 feet across eastern Pamlico county with the highest water levels recorded near Oriental. A 4 to 7 foot storm surge occurred across Core Sound in eastern Carteret county, except water levels rose between 8 and 10 feet along the South River and Big Creek. Storm surge values were around 7 feet in portions of Beaufort county in Washington, and Belhaven. Virtually every business on Main Street in Belhaven was flooded with 2 to 3 feet of water. Storm surges from 2 to 6 feet occurred across Hyde county with the highest water levels recorded in Swan Quarter in the southwest part of the county where hundreds of homes and businesses flooded. Wind damage was more significant across Hyde, Washington, Tyrell, Martin, and the Outer Banks counties where wind gusts of around 100 mph occurred. Hurricane force winds resulted in structural damage to homes. Numerous trees and power lines were downed across these areas resulting in a loss of electricity for several weeks in some locations. Hurricane force winds were also experienced in parts of the inland counties of Jones, Craven, and Pitt counties during the afternoon of September 18th where inland hurricane wind warnings had been in effect for 11 hours. Other counties west of the center of the storm experienced wind gusts between 60 and 65 mph.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 17, 3:19 PM EST, 2 hours 41 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
17 hurricane (typhoon). Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, September 2003The 2003 hurricane season
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5337057, 5337058, 5337059, 5337060, 5337061, 5337062, 5337063, 5337064, 5337065, 5337066, 5337067, 5337068, 5337069, 5337070, 5337071, 5337072, 5337073.