As a result of the high storm surge, the low-lying sandy barrier islands were completely flooded. For example, in Long Beach, North Carolina, only five of the 357 buildings were left standing. Brunswick County suffered the heaviest damage, where most coastal dwellings were either completely destroyed or severely damaged. Intensifying the damage was the fact that the hurricane coincided with the highest lunar tide of the year. The hurricane brought a storm surge of over 18 feet to a large area of the North Carolina coastline, producing severe coastal damage. Hazel made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near Calabash, North Carolina, close to the North Carolina/South Carolina state border, halfway between Myrtle Beach and Wilmington. Massive evacuations were ordered along the Carolina coastal regions at this time. Forecasts were updated to indicate landfall near the North Carolina/South Carolina border. Instead the hurricane took a northwest turn and headed toward land. Weather Bureau (precursor to the National Weather Service) issued a warning for the Carolinas, although the forecasters felt the center of Hazel would remain offshore and weaken. Surface Weather Map from Octoat 11 AM showing Hurricane Hazel along the Carolina coast.Īt 11 a.m. Path of Hurricane Hazel, October 14-15, 1954įigure 2. In New York City, a peak gust of 113 mph was recorded at the Battery at the south end of Manhattan. Myrtle Beach, SC reported a peak gust of 106 mph Washington DC reported sustained winds to 78 mph while peak gusts to over 90 mph were reported far to the north in New York state. Wind gusts near 100 mph were reported from numerous locations in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York as Hazel raced northward. A storm surge of over 12 feet inundated a large area of coastline reaching as high as 18 feet at Calabash, where the storm surge coincided with the time of the lunar high tide and Hazel nearly wiped out Garden City, SC.Īs Hazel moved rapidly inland, its winds only slowly diminished with a gust to 110 mph reported at Fayetteville and 90 mph at the Raleigh-Durham Airport. Winds of 98 mph were measured in Wilmington while winds were estimated at 125 mph at Wrightsville Beach and 140 mph at Oak Island. The coastal area near the landfall was battered by winds estimated to have been as high 150 mph. ![]() Landfall occurred on the North Carolina/South Carolina border (Figure 2) on the morning of October 15th as the system was starting to transition into an extra-tropical storm. Hazel gradually turned back northward passing over the southeastern Bahamas on October 13, then turned more northwestward on the 14th when hurricane hunter planes found Hazel’s maximum winds had increased to 150 mph with the center now moving at a rapid 30 mph in response to a strong upper level trough moving eastward over the Mississippi Valley. ![]() As a result of the passage over Haiti, the maximum winds diminished to 100 mph, but after clearing Haiti, Hazel was once again over warm tropical waters and began to strengthen. Between October 9th and 12th Hurricane Hazel moved northward and then north-northeastward crossing western Haiti on October 11 leaving a death toll estimated to be between 400 and 1,000. By October 9, Hazel had intensified into a powerful Category 4 storm with maximum winds of 135 mph. Hazel moved westward over the Caribbean Sea through October 8 before sharply turning northward under the influence of an upper level low that was situated over the western Caribbean Sea. The first indication that a tropical cyclone had formed came on Octoabout 50 miles east of the island of Grenada in the Windward Islands. ![]() Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 hurricane season (Figure 1) and is the strongest and only Category 4 hurricane to ever hit the North Carolina coast.
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