NWS Wilmington, NC

Weather Forecast Office

Summary of Hurricane Isabel

Hurricane Isabel

Event Description

Isabel was identified as a Tropical Storm on Saturday, September 6, 2003 at 9 PM/1300 UTC at 14N 34W, west of the Cape Verde Islands. Moving west-northwest, Isabel developed into a Category 1 Hurricane on Sunday, and strengthened to rare Category 5 Hurricane status (sustained 1-minute wind greater than 155 mph) on Thursday, September 11, 2003. Although Isabel briefly weakened to Category 4 strength it was still a Category 5 storm on Sunday, September 14, 2003, centered 325 miles north of Puerto Rico. Over the next couple of days, Isabel made a slow northwest turn, weakening to Category 3 strength Monday afternoon and Category 2 strength on Tuesday. Isabel continued on a north-northwest course, making landfall on the North Carolina Outer Banks between Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras on Thursday afternoon, September 18, 2003.

Watches/Warnings

At 11 AM on Tuesday, September 16, 2003, when the center of Isabel was 600 miles away, a Hurricane Watch was raised for the coast of North Carolina and a Tropical Storm Watch was raised for the South Carolina coast south to the mouth of the South Santee River. At 11 PM, a Hurricane Warning was raised from Cape Fear NC northward, a Tropical Storm Warning was raised from Cape Fear to Little River Inlet SC, with a Tropical Storm Watch remaining from Little River Inlet SC to South Santee River SC...elevated to a Tropical Storm Warning on Wednesday at 11 AM. Following eye landfall, the Hurricane Warning from Surf City NC to Cape Fear NC was lowered to a Tropical Storm Warning, and all warnings south were dropped. At 11 PM, all warnings were dropped along the North Carolina coast.

Satellite Image of Hurricane Isabel

Actual Track of Isabel (click to enlarge)

NHC's 5-day Forecast compared to Isabel's actual track (click to enlarge)

Plot of Highest Winds

Hurricane Isabel Wind Gusts

Highest Winds (Note: Official NWS or FAA sites are shaded in gray)

Location	Peak Wind (Direction/Speed)	Time (EDT)
Pender County
Holly Shelter	310/61 mph	1620
Topsail Beach	58 mph	1030

New Hanover County
Wilmington Intl. Airport	Sustained: 260/45 mph	1743
Wilmington Intl. Airport	Gust: 260/59	1744
WECT-TV at Shipyard Blvd.	53 mph	unknown
Battleship North Carolina	49 mph	unknown
Isabelle Holmes Bridge	57 mph	0930
NC State Port (21 m, 70 ft)	66 mph	1000-1100
Wrightsville Beach Police Dept.	NNW 45 mph	1100
Wrightsville Beach Fire Dept.	NW 60 mph	0830
Wrightsville Beach Oceanic Pier	56 mph	1728
Carolina Beach	NW 52 mph	1005
Kure Beach Pier	47 mph	1205
Kure Beach La Que Center	NW 55 mph	0900

Brunswick County
Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal	W 52 mph	1620
Southport NC State Pilot	65 mph	1934
Southport Elementary	53 mph	unknown
Southport Brunswick Co. Airport	NW 51 mph	1200
Holden Beach	Sustained: W 28 Gust: 45 mph	1550
Ocean Isle Beach	57 mph	1200

Horry County
North Myrtle Beach Airport	Gust: 290/33 mph	1614
Myrtle Beach Airport	Gust: 300/32 mph	1400-1600
Springmaid Pier (Myrtle Beach)	Sustained: W/28 mph Gust: W/45 mph	1545
Little River	41 mph	1323
Loris EMS Station	43 mph	1342
Conway	26 mph	unknown
Myrtle Beach Pavilion	39 mph	1238
Socastee	36 mph	unknown
Garden City	32 mph	1004

Georgetown County
Pawley's Island	40 mph	1224
Georgetown Fire Dept.	36 mph	1620

Florence County
Florence Airport	Sustained: 300/25 mph	1805
Florence Airport	Gust: 290/38 mph	1711
Florence city	34 mph	1437
Lake City	33 mph	1325

Robeson County
Lumberton Airport	Sustained: 30/37 mph	1521
	Gust: 300/52 mph	1537

Bladen County
Elizabethtown Airport	Sustained: 300/25 mph	1920
	Gust: 270/50 mph	1740

Columbus County
Whiteville Chamber of Commerce	49 mph	unknown

Offshore Waters
Frying Pan Shoals Tower (coastal waters)...145 ft. ASL	8 min avg. Sustained: WNW/72 mph	1030-1330
	Gust: WNW 82 mph	1030-1330

Rainfall

North Carolina

Wilmington Intl. Airport: 1.98"
Wilmington WECT-TV (Shipyard Blvd.): 2.24"
Cape Fear Lock and Dam 1: 1.98"
Whiteville 7NW: 4.16"
Whiteville Chamber of Commerce: 4.51"
Whiteville 5S: 3.37"
Elizabethtown: 2.26"
Southport Brunswick Co. Airport: 1.95"
Shallotte 5W: 3.20"
Longwood: 3.10"
Tobermory: 2.17"
Lumberton: 3.39"
Lumberton 3SE: 3.32"

South Carolina

North Myrtle Beach: 0.83"
Myrtle Beach: 0.43"
Loris: 1.34"
Conway: 0.25"
Cades: 0.00"
Florence: 0.06"
Mullins: 0.76"
Pee Dee: 0.29"
Bennettsville 1N: 0.33"
Dillon: 0.80"

Lowest Pressure:

NWS Weather Forecast Office Wilmington, NC: 990.5 MB at 1443 EDT.
CMAN FPSN7 Frying Pan Shoals Tower: 993.4 MB at 1300 EDT.

Storm Tides: One-half to One foot above normal.

Beach Erosion: Moderate Erosion in vicinity of Cape Fear (Bald Head Island). Minor Erosion on North Carolina east facing beaches north of Cape Fear, and some sand accretion. None reported elsewhere.

Flooding: Rainwater ponding on roadways mainly in Brunswick and Columbus Counties.

Tornadoes: None.

Storm Effects: Damage described as comparatively minor, including on barrier islands where scattered roof shingles and siding were lost. Across Southeast North Carolina, there were limbs and several trees downed, some on cars and a few houses. There were no damage reports from South Carolina.

Deaths or Injuries: None Reported.

Power: Brief outages, mainly in Southeast North Carolina.

Evacuations: Voluntary along North Carolina barrier islands.

Wilmington, NC Radar as Eyewall of Isabel moves ashore

Wilmington, NC Radar as Isabel makes landfall