Active 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season ends
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – The 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season was more active than most preseason forecasts. Over 20 storms formed, included an unnamed subtropical storm that was retroactively recognized to have formed off the New England Coast in January.
Tropical Storm Ophelia was North Carolina’s only landfaller. It hit Emerald Isle on Sept. 23 and delivered a quick and fairly manageable dose of cool, wet, nor’easter-like conditions to the Cape Fear Region.
Tropical Storm Idalia delivered rain with a bit of a different personality as it tracked just off the Carolina Coast at the end of August. Idalia spawned four tornadoes in the Cape Fear Region including one that damaged an animal clinic in St. James. First Alert Weather’s Gabe Ross and Ella Tansey were on for an evening of extended tornado coverage. Idalia’s rain amounts were mostly moderate, but the Whiteville area clocked one of the heavier tallies – over eight inches – and suffered some flooding.
In the end, the active 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season may be described as much easier on the Cape Fear Region than many seasons in recent memory, but we certainly didn’t get off unscathed.
Thanks for trusting your First Alert Weather Team this season! We will work hard to keep that trust in 2024.
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