Question
There was a hurricane that formed in both the Hatteras and Oregon Inlets in North Carolina. What was the year and what were the highest sustained winds?
Answer
We found no data that indicate any hurricane actually formed in either of those North Carolina areas. Hurricanes are products of a tropical ocean and atmosphere. Powered by heat from the sea, they are steered by the easterly trade winds and the temperate westerlies, as well as by their own ferocious energy. Being a coastal state, the residents of North Carolina have had their share of landfall hurricanes for generations, having had 11 major hurricane make landfall between 1990-1996. As for high winds, Hurricane Fran, a major Category 3 hurricane, hit the North Carolina coastal areas of Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender, Onslow, and Carteret counties on September 6, 1996, with sustained surface winds of almost 130 mph.
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