Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ocean Isle Beach, NC

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Shallotte Ag, NC, 4 miles east of Ocean Isle Beach at 20 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 56°F and 36°F. September is the wettest at 9.7 inches of precipitation on average and April the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 56.7 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 60% of the year's precipitation (34.1 of 56.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 115 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (41); a normal September there has highs of 82°F and 9.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 37 nights a year. That 56.7 inches is more than at 113 of the 140 North Carolina stations used on this site (81%). Calabash, 7 miles west, has its own station (Longwood, NC): 57.2 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 55 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ocean Isle Beach: 20 flash floods, 20 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods, 3 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $3.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on February 15, 2017. October has had the most flash floods, 8 of 20. Of the 472 North Carolina cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 284 have had fewer than Ocean Isle Beach.

Flood insurance policyholders in Ocean Isle Beach's ZIP code 28469 have filed 1,601 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $6.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Hugo in 1989: 316 claims (20% of all) and $1.2 million, then Hurricane Isaias in 2020 with 250 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016 with 202. 84% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 263 North Carolina cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 245 have fewer than Ocean Isle Beach.