Gates County, North Carolina Hurricane History

No active tropical cyclones are within 500 miles of Gates County, North Carolina as of Thursday, 10 September 2026. Official forecasts at nhc.noaa.gov.

Since 1851, 56 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Gates County, North Carolina — about one every 3.1 years. Of those, 12 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Ophelia (2023), which passed 45 miles away on 23 September 2023.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

3.1

Avg. years between

Years since the last

Storm tracks within 50 miles

TS / TDCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5

Each line is one storm track, coloured by the strongest category it reached while within 50 miles. The dashed ring marks that 50-mile radius; hairlines are one-degree graticule. Source: NOAA NHC HURDAT2.

How strong they get

Cat 2 · 2Cat 1 · 9TS / TD · 45

The 56 storms by the strongest category each reached while within 50 miles. 2 of them reached Cat 2.

Key facts

Most recentOphelia (2023) — 45 mi away, 23 September 2023
Strongest stormUnnamed Storm (1879) — 93 kt (107 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordDanny (1997) — 2.9 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)None on record
Passes within 25 miles26 of 56
Peak monthSeptember — 23 storms (41% of all)
Most active year2004 — 3 storms
Most active decade1960s — 8 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi0
Record span1851–2023

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In Gates County, North Carolina, September is the most active month, with 23 of the 56 recorded storms (41%). The primary season runs July to September, accounting for 80% of all activity. The 1960s was the most active decade on record, with 8 storms. 0 of the 56 storms were major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger) while within 50 miles.

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
0	0	0	0	3	5	8	14	23	3	0	0

Activity by decade

19002000

Tropical cyclones passing within 50 miles, by decade, 1850s to 2020s. Decades with no storms are shown as empty columns. Comparing two equal 38-year windows inside the aircraft-reconnaissance era: 16 storms in 1950–1987 against 16 in 1988–2025.

1850s	1860s	1870s	1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
4	2	5	4	2	1	2	0	3	1	4	8	3	1	3	7	2	4

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Ophelia (2023)	23 Sep 2023	45.5 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Elsa (2021)	9 Jul 2021	45.9 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Claudette (2021)	21 Jun 2021	32.6 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Isaias (2020)	4 Aug 2020	38.5 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Ana (2015)	11 May 2015	12.2 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Irene (2011)	27 Aug 2011	45.7 mi	Cat 1	65 kt
Hanna (2008)	6 Sep 2008	44.2 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Gaston (2004)	30 Aug 2004	37.0 mi	TS / TD	32 kt
Charley (2004)	14 Aug 2004	23.9 mi	TS / TD	47 kt
Bonnie (2004)	13 Aug 2004	49.8 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Isabel (2003)	18 Sep 2003	36.7 mi	Cat 1	72 kt
Allison (2001)	16 Jun 2001	11.3 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Helene (2000)	23 Sep 2000	21.5 mi	TS / TD	39 kt
Floyd (1999)	16 Sep 1999	22.4 mi	Cat 1	67 kt
Danny (1997)	24 Jul 1997	2.9 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Bertha (1996)	13 Jul 1996	22.2 mi	TS / TD	61 kt
Charley (1986)	17 Aug 1986	47.3 mi	Cat 1	69 kt
Bob (1979)	15 Jul 1979	28.6 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Doria (1971)	28 Aug 1971	11.9 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Alma (1970)	27 May 1970	17.0 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Camille (1969)	20 Aug 1969	47.9 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Doria (1967)	17 Sep 1967	42.3 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Unnamed Storm (1967)	19 Jun 1967	7.5 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Cleo (1964)	1 Sep 1964	10.0 mi	TS / TD	33 kt
Unnamed Storm (1964)	24 Jul 1964	32.6 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1963)	3 Jun 1963	44.7 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1961)	14 Sep 1961	17.6 mi	TS / TD	42 kt
Brenda (1960)	30 Jul 1960	11.0 mi	TS / TD	51 kt
Cindy (1959)	10 Jul 1959	13.9 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Ione (1955)	20 Sep 1955	33.2 mi	Cat 1	65 kt
Connie (1955)	13 Aug 1955	33.1 mi	Cat 1	72 kt
Barbara (1953)	14 Aug 1953	49.9 mi	Cat 1	72 kt
Unnamed Storm (1949)	14 Sep 1949	34.9 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1935)	6 Sep 1935	20.3 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1934)	3 Sep 1934	12.2 mi	TS / TD	31 kt
Unnamed Storm (1933)	23 Aug 1933	32.9 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Unnamed Storm (1916)	7 Sep 1916	17.0 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1916)	16 May 1916	14.8 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1904)	15 Sep 1904	42.6 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Unnamed Storm (1894)	10 Oct 1894	14.9 mi	TS / TD	62 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	17 Jun 1893	31.9 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1889)	24 Sep 1889	38.5 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1886)	2 Jul 1886	44.2 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1882)	23 Sep 1882	16.8 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1881)	10 Sep 1881	5.9 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1879)	18 Aug 1879	46.8 mi	Cat 2	93 kt
Unnamed Storm (1878)	23 Oct 1878	22.7 mi	Cat 2	88 kt
Unnamed Storm (1876)	17 Sep 1876	33.6 mi	Cat 1	68 kt
Unnamed Storm (1874)	29 Sep 1874	26.6 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1872)	25 Oct 1872	11.7 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1863)	18 Sep 1863	19.7 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1861)	27 Sep 1861	15.1 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Unnamed Storm (1857)	14 Sep 1857	41.4 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1856)	19 Aug 1856	28.9 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1854)	10 Sep 1854	6.5 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1851)	25 Aug 1851	28.4 mi	TS / TD	40 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

A further 18 systems passed within 50 miles after losing tropical characteristics. These are excluded from the counts above because they were no longer tropical cyclones at their closest approach — but several were highly damaging, so they are listed here. Showing the 9 most recent.

Storm	Status	Closest approach	Distance	Wind
Nestor (2019)	Post-tropical	20 Oct 2019	27.6 mi	40 kt
Michael (2018)	Post-tropical	12 Oct 2018	23.1 mi	53 kt
Andrea (2013)	Post-tropical	7 Jun 2013	22.7 mi	40 kt
Ernesto (2006)	Post-tropical	1 Sep 2006	29.7 mi	40 kt
Alberto (2006)	Post-tropical	14 Jun 2006	47.9 mi	37 kt
Earl (1998)	Post-tropical	4 Sep 1998	27.0 mi	50 kt
Josephine (1996)	Post-tropical	8 Oct 1996	49.7 mi	45 kt
Danny (1985)	Post-tropical	19 Aug 1985	40.6 mi	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1928)	Post-tropical	19 Sep 1928	37.0 mi	63 kt

About this data. Computed from NOAA's HURDAT2 Atlantic and Northeast Pacific hurricane databases (hurdat2-1851-2025-02272026.txt), covering 1851–2025. Tracks are recorded every six hours and are interpolated to one-hour steps before distances are measured, so closest-approach figures are not distorted by the sampling interval. Distances are measured to the county's Census internal point, not to its nearest boundary, so a storm listed at 55 miles may still have crossed the coastline — see Methodology. Records before about 1900 are sparser and less precise than modern ones, and storms that stayed at sea were less likely to be recorded at all.

Storms that came back

2 named storms in this record passed Gates County, North Carolina more than once.

Charley — 2 passes (1986, 2004)
Doria — 2 passes (1967, 1971)

How Gates County, North Carolina compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Gates County, North Carolina ranks #147 — more exposed than 93.3% of them. Within North Carolina it ranks #25 of 100, against a state average of 37.9 storms per county.

Notable storms

Cat 2 Unnamed Storm (1879) passed 47 miles away on 18 August 1879 as a hurricane, reaching 93 kt (107 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 2 Unnamed Storm (1878) passed 23 miles away on 23 October 1878 as a hurricane, reaching 88 kt (101 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Connie (1955) passed 33 miles away on 13 August 1955 as a hurricane, reaching 78 kt (90 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Isabel (2003) passed 37 miles away on 18 September 2003 as a hurricane, reaching 75 kt (86 mph) while within 50 miles.

52 of the 56 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 3.1 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 56 storms spread over the 175 years from 1851 to 2025. 6 separate years saw more than one storm pass within 50 miles while stretches of a decade or more have passed with none. The longest recorded quiet stretch was 17 years, between 1916 and 1933. It has been 2 years since the last one; 20 of the 48 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

How many hurricanes have hit Gates County, North Carolina?

12 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Gates County, North Carolina at hurricane strength since 1851. Counting all tropical cyclones — including tropical storms and depressions — the total is 56.

When was the last hurricane in Gates County, North Carolina?

Irene (2011), on 27 August 2011, passing 46 miles away — 15 years ago. The most recent tropical cyclone of any strength was Ophelia (2023) in 2023.

What was the strongest storm to affect Gates County, North Carolina?

Unnamed Storm (1879), which reached 93 kt (107 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 47 miles.

How often do hurricanes hit Gates County, North Carolina?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 3.1 years — 56 storms over the 175 years from 1851 to 2025, the end of the HURDAT2 record. That is a historical average, not a schedule or a forecast.

Nearby counties

Gates County, North Carolina borders or sits close to 8 other counties with a published storm record. Chowan County, North Carolina has 64 on record.

Chowan County, North Carolina64 storms within 50 mi Perquimans County, North Carolina60 storms within 50 mi Pasquotank County, North Carolina58 storms within 50 mi Camden County, North Carolina57 storms within 50 mi Suffolk city, Virginia54 storms within 50 mi Franklin city, Virginia49 storms within 50 mi Hertford County, North Carolina49 storms within 50 mi Southampton County, Virginia49 storms within 50 mi