Characteristics of Landfalling Tropical Cyclones in North Carolina

Trends in the Atlantic tropical cyclones and the cyclones that had tracks through North Carolina were analyzed for more than 100 years. From about 1970, there appears to be an increase in the mean number of storms developing. The number of storms affecting North Carolina each decade has been increasing since the 1960s. In the 1980s, 1990s, and into the 2000s, there was an increase in the number of landfalling storms in North Carolina. Although August and September are the most active months of the Atlantic hurricane season, the hurricane season for North Carolina peaks in September. Wind distribution and frictional convergence associated with landfalling hurricanes in North Carolina are discussed. Convection and precipitation patterns of landfalling hurricanes are presented. Two examples of the effect of spatial surface moisture distribution on intensification of tropical cyclones over land after landfall are discussed.