Hurricane and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, August 3, 2004

Name: Hurricane and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, August 3, 2004
Start: 2004-08-03T00:00
End: 2004-08-03T23:00
Location: North Carolina

August 3, 2004 · NWS MHX · 13 events in 11 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $7.5 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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.

Hurricane Alex, a category two storm with 100 mph sustained winds, brushed the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the late morning to early afternoon hours on August 3rd. The most significant impacts occurred along the Outer Banks from Ocracoke to Buxton where winds gusted to near 100 mph and soundside flooding was estimated between 4 to 6 feet. Winds and storm surge resulted in damage to over 100 homes and businesses. Nearly 500 cars were completely flooded on Ocracoke, and in the Hatteras Village area with damage estimated near 7.5 million dollars. Storm surge along the coast, along the lower reaches of the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers, and across other counties adjacent to the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds were estimated at 1 to 3 feet where no significant damage occurred. The first outer rainbands began affecting the area during the early morning hours and continued through the day. Four to eight inches of rainfall was estimated across eastern Craven and Carteret Counties extending northeast and including Dare and Hyde counties. Freshwater flooding was reported across Craven and Carteret Counties. There were no reported tornadoes.

What forecasters said that day

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 Aug 2, 8:33 PM EST, 3 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 2, 8:33 PM EST, 3 hours 27 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
933 PM EDT MON AUG 2 2004

.SHORT TERM UPDATE...ALEX CONTS TO MOVE NE ANDS LOOKS PRETTY GOOD ON
RADAR WITH NICE BANDING NEAR CENTER. NEW SRT RANGE MDLS ARE VERY
CLOSE TO OFFICIAL TRACK SO GOING FCST LOOKS GOOD. DO NOT EXPECT TO
MAKE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WITH ZONES/GRIDS AT THIS POINT...WL
WAIT TIL NHC CALL AND DECIDE IF NEED ANY UPDATE OVERNIGHT. CRNTLY
HAVE SCT SHRA/TSRA MOVING ONSHORE AHEAD OF ALEX. MAIN RAIN SHIELD
WITH ALEX IS APPROACHING FROM THE S AND LOOKS LIKE WL IMPACT CSTL
SITES LATER TONIGHT.
&&

.AVIATION...FOR SRT TERM EXPECT SCT MVFR/OCNL IFR CONDITIONS WITH
SCT SHRA. LATER TONIGHT WILL SEE MORE WIDESPREAD MVFR/IFR CIGS/VSBYS
TO DVLP FROM N TO S ALONG CST AS TROP STORM ALEX MOVES NE. GUSTY SFC
WINDS WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT THE SRN CST LATE TONIGHT.
&&

.MARINE...WL BE UPDATING FIRST PD TO DELAY INCREASING WINDS AND SEAS
A BIT ESPCLY NRN TIER. MAY ALSO BUMP UP SEAS A CPL FEET OFF OUTER
BANKS FOR TUE WITH PROB HURRICANE JUST TO THE E.
&&

.MHX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR ZONES NCZ045>047-080-081-093-094-
098.
MARINE...TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR ZONES AMZ130-150-158.
NC...HURRICANE WARNING FOR ZONES NCZ095-103-104.
MARINE...HURRICANE WARNINGS FOR ZONES AMZ135-152-154-156.
NC...FFA FOR ALL ZONES.
&&

RF

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 2, 6:30 PM EST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
730 PM EDT MON AUG 2 2004

NCZ029-044>047-079>081-090>095-098-103-104-030914-
BEAUFORT NC-CARTERET NC-CRAVEN NC-DUPLIN NC-GREENE NC-JONES NC-
LENOIR NC-MAINLAND DARE NC-MAINLAND HYDE NC-MARTIN NC-ONSLOW NC-
OUTER BANKS DARE NC-OUTER BANKS HYDE NC-PAMLICO NC-PITT NC-
TYRRELL NC-WASHINGTON NC-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ATLANTIC BEACH...BAYBORO...BEAUFORT...
BELHAVEN...BEULAVILLE...BUXTON...CEDAR ISLAND...COLUMBIA...DUCK...
EMERALD ISLE...ENGELHARD...FRISCO...GREENVILLE...HARKERS ISLAND...
HATTERAS VILLAGE...HAVELOCK...JACKSONVILLE...KENANSVILLE...
KILL DEVIL HILLS...KINSTON...KITTY HAWK...LA GRANGE...MANNS HARBOR...
MANTEO...MOREHEAD CITY...NAGS HEAD...NEW BERN...
NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH...OCRACOKE...ORIENTAL...PLYMOUTH...SNOW HILL...
SWANQUARTER...SWANSBORO...TRENTON...WALLACE...WARSAW...
WASHINGTON AND WILLIAMSTON
730 PM EDT MON AUG 2 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

TROPICAL ALEX WILL APPROACH FROM THE SOUTH THIS EVENING. A FLOOD
WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE AREA UNTIL 11 AM TUESDAY. LOCALLY VERY
HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE LIKELY OVERNIGHT. A HIGH THREAT OF RIP CURRENTS
CONTINUES ALONG THE ENTIRE COAST. A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT
FROM CAPE LOOKOUT TO OREGON INLET...INCLUDING THE PAMLICO SOUND. A
TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM SURF CITY TO CAPE
LOOKOUT...AND NORTH OF OREGON INLET INCLUDING THE ALBEMARLE SOUND.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

TROPICAL STORM ALEX IS EXPECTED TO BECOME A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE
JUST EAST OF THE OUTER BANKS TUESDAY. HURRICANE WARNINGS WILL LIKELY
REMAIN UP FROM CAPE LOOKOUT TO OREGON INLET INCLUDING THE PAMLICO
SOUND. TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS WILL CONTINUE SOUTH OF CAPE LOOKOUT
AND NORTH OF OREGON INLET INCLUDING THE ALBEMARLE SOUND. A FLASH
FLOOD WATCH WILL ALSO CONTINUE UNTIL 11 AM TUESDAY ACROSS THE
REGION. AS ALEX MOVES AWAY TUESDAY NIGHT CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE
OVER THE REGION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TUESDAY.

RF

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 hurricane (typhoon), 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hurricane (Typhoon), Beaufort

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Beaufort forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.486, -76.845 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hurricane (Typhoon), Carteret

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Carteret forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Hurricane (Typhoon), Craven

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Craven forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Hurricane (Typhoon), Eastern Dare

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Dare forecast zone
Property damage: $2.5 million
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Hurricane (Typhoon), Eastern Hyde

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Hyde forecast zone
Property damage: $5.0 million
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Hurricane (Typhoon), Onslow

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Onslow forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Hurricane (Typhoon), Pamlico

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Pamlico forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.152, -76.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hurricane (Typhoon), Tyrrell

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Tyrrell forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.870, -76.170 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hurricane (Typhoon), Washington

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.839, -76.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hurricane (Typhoon), Western Dare

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Western Dare forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.787, -75.781 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hurricane (Typhoon), Western Hyde

When: August 3, 12:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Western Hyde forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.410, -76.148 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Carteret

When: August 3, 9:10 AM EST to 11:15 AM EST
Where: Carteret County, East Portion
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.864, -76.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Craven

When: August 3, 9:10 AM EST to 11:15 AM EST
Where: Craven County, East Portion
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.117, -77.083 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Hurricane (Typhoon): A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 64 knots (74 mph) or more, filed per forecast zone for its wind, and with separate events for its flooding, surge and tornadoes.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, August 2004 The 2004 hurricane season

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: 5421451, 5421452, 5421453, 5421454, 5421455, 5421456, 5421457, 5421458, 5421459, 5421460, 5421461, 5421462, 5421463.