Wilson County, North Carolina Hurricane History

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

Since 1851, 53 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Wilson County, North Carolina — about one every 3.3 years. Of those, 6 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Chantal (2025), which passed 43 miles away on 7 July 2025.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

3.3

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 1 · 5TS / TD · 48

The 53 storms by the strongest category each reached while within 50 miles. 5 of them reached Cat 1.

Key facts

Most recentChantal (2025) — 43 mi away, 7 July 2025
Strongest stormUnnamed Storm (1893) — 77 kt (89 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordAna (2015) — 6.2 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)None on record
Passes within 25 miles24 of 53
Peak monthSeptember — 22 storms (42% of all)
Most active year1893 — 3 storms
Most active decade1880s and 2000s — 6 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi0
Record span1851–2025

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In Wilson County, North Carolina, September is the most active month, with 22 of the 53 recorded storms (42%). Activity concentrates in July, September and October, together 72% of all storms. The 1880s and 2000s are tied as the most active decades on record, with 6 storms. 0 of the 53 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	7	22	8	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: 11 storms in 1950–1987 against 17 in 1988–2025.

1850s	1860s	1870s	1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
2	0	3	6	5	2	3	1	1	2	2	4	3	2	4	6	2	5

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Chantal (2025)	7 Jul 2025	42.8 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Ophelia (2023)	23 Sep 2023	34.0 mi	TS / TD	43 kt
Elsa (2021)	8 Jul 2021	34.5 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Claudette (2021)	21 Jun 2021	15.4 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Isaias (2020)	4 Aug 2020	17.4 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Michael (2018)	11 Oct 2018	45.8 mi	TS / TD	49 kt
Ana (2015)	11 May 2015	6.2 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Hanna (2008)	6 Sep 2008	10.0 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Ernesto (2006)	1 Sep 2006	16.4 mi	TS / TD	33 kt
Gaston (2004)	30 Aug 2004	27.7 mi	TS / TD	28 kt
Charley (2004)	14 Aug 2004	41.7 mi	TS / TD	53 kt
Isabel (2003)	18 Sep 2003	48.8 mi	Cat 1	72 kt
Helene (2000)	23 Sep 2000	16.3 mi	TS / TD	36 kt
Dennis (1999)	5 Sep 1999	7.3 mi	TS / TD	34 kt
Danny (1997)	24 Jul 1997	7.1 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Fran (1996)	6 Sep 1996	49.3 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Bertha (1996)	13 Jul 1996	30.7 mi	TS / TD	63 kt
Unnamed Storm (1987)	8 Sep 1987	33.2 mi	TD	—
Diana (1984)	14 Sep 1984	43.3 mi	TS / TD	42 kt
Agnes (1972)	21 Jun 1972	39.0 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Ginger (1971)	2 Oct 1971	20.3 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Alma (1970)	26 May 1970	21.9 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1967)	18 Jun 1967	14.1 mi	TS / TD	29 kt
Cleo (1964)	31 Aug 1964	38.0 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1964)	23 Jul 1964	22.8 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Brenda (1960)	30 Jul 1960	34.4 mi	TS / TD	53 kt
Cindy (1959)	10 Jul 1959	11.9 mi	TS / TD	34 kt
Diane (1955)	17 Aug 1955	33.8 mi	TS / TD	53 kt
Unnamed Storm (1949)	14 Sep 1949	8.2 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1944)	2 Aug 1944	15.6 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Unnamed Storm (1935)	6 Sep 1935	25.3 mi	TS / TD	49 kt
Unnamed Storm (1928)	19 Sep 1928	16.8 mi	Cat 1	68 kt
Unnamed Storm (1916)	6 Sep 1916	8.5 mi	TS / TD	32 kt
Unnamed Storm (1916)	16 May 1916	14.0 mi	TS / TD	36 kt
Unnamed Storm (1913)	3 Sep 1913	41.1 mi	TS / TD	42 kt
Unnamed Storm (1904)	14 Sep 1904	20.9 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Unnamed Storm (1902)	16 Jun 1902	47.3 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1899)	31 Oct 1899	31.5 mi	TS / TD	58 kt
Unnamed Storm (1894)	10 Oct 1894	41.9 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	13 Oct 1893	33.9 mi	Cat 1	78 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	4 Oct 1893	40.6 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	16 Jun 1893	43.9 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1889)	24 Sep 1889	46.6 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1888)	10 Sep 1888	45.7 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1887)	20 Oct 1887	24.9 mi	TS / TD	34 kt
Unnamed Storm (1886)	2 Jul 1886	20.1 mi	TS / TD	36 kt
Unnamed Storm (1883)	12 Sep 1883	12.8 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Unnamed Storm (1881)	10 Sep 1881	36.8 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Unnamed Storm (1876)	17 Sep 1876	31.5 mi	Cat 1	72 kt
Unnamed Storm (1874)	29 Sep 1874	14.5 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Unnamed Storm (1872)	25 Oct 1872	38.5 mi	TS / TD	43 kt
Unnamed Storm (1854)	10 Sep 1854	10.6 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1851)	25 Aug 1851	27.1 mi	TS / TD	40 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

A further 17 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	21.4 mi	40 kt
Julia (2016)	Post-tropical	21 Sep 2016	35.9 mi	20 kt
Andrea (2013)	Post-tropical	7 Jun 2013	17.5 mi	40 kt
Alberto (2006)	Post-tropical	14 Jun 2006	27.4 mi	35 kt
Gordon (2000)	Post-tropical	19 Sep 2000	43.3 mi	20 kt
Earl (1998)	Post-tropical	4 Sep 1998	19.7 mi	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1965)	Post-tropical	16 Jun 1965	20.6 mi	38 kt
Isbell (1964)	Post-tropical	16 Oct 1964	18.6 mi	35 kt
Hazel (1954)	Post-tropical	15 Oct 1954	29.6 mi	80 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.

How Wilson 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, Wilson County, North Carolina ranks #172 — more exposed than 92.2% of them. Within North Carolina it ranks #29 of 100, against a state average of 37.9 storms per county.

Notable storms

Cat 1 Unnamed Storm (1893) passed 34 miles away on 13 October 1893 as a hurricane, reaching 77 kt (89 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Unnamed Storm (1876) passed 31 miles away on 17 September 1876 as a hurricane, reaching 75 kt (86 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Isabel (2003) passed 49 miles away on 18 September 2003 as a hurricane, reaching 71 kt (82 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS Unnamed Storm (1928) passed 17 miles away on 19 September 1928 as a tropical storm, reaching 70 kt (81 mph) while within 50 miles.

48 of the 53 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 3.3 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 53 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 18 years, between 1854 and 1872. It has been 0 years since the last one; 45 of the 45 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

How many hurricanes have hit Wilson County, North Carolina?

6 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Wilson County, North Carolina at hurricane strength since 1851. Counting all tropical cyclones — including tropical storms and depressions — the total is 53.

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

Isabel (2003), on 18 September 2003, passing 49 miles away — 23 years ago. The most recent tropical cyclone of any strength was Chantal (2025) in 2025.

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

Unnamed Storm (1893), which reached 77 kt (89 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 34 miles.

How often do hurricanes hit Wilson County, North Carolina?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 3.3 years — 53 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

Wilson County, North Carolina borders or sits close to 6 other counties with a published storm record. Pitt County, North Carolina has 59 on record.

Pitt County, North Carolina59 storms within 50 mi Greene County, North Carolina57 storms within 50 mi Wayne County, North Carolina54 storms within 50 mi Edgecombe County, North Carolina50 storms within 50 mi Nash County, North Carolina48 storms within 50 mi Johnston County, North Carolina47 storms within 50 mi