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Hurricane Diana (1984)

Hurricane Diana was a Category 4 hurricane at its peak, with 132 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 949 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 8 of the cities we track; the strongest was Wilmington, NC, with a modeled peak gust of 141 mph.

Peak strength132 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 4
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
8
LandfallsFirst September 13, 1984
1
Lowest pressure
949 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Diana’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. September 13, 1984, Category 1 at 92 mph, about 22 miles from Wilmington, NC

Modeled winds at cities (8)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Wilmington, NC141 mph115 mph21 milesSep 11, 1984, 8:00 PM EDT
Myrtle Beach, SC114 mph93 mph39 milesSep 11, 1984, 3:00 PM EDT
Fayetteville, NC79 mph64 mph43 milesSep 11, 1984, 8:00 PM EDT
Charleston, SC72 mph58 mph92 milesSep 11, 1984, 8:30 AM EDT
Raleigh, NC61 mph49 mph68 milesSep 11, 1984, 8:00 PM EDT
Durham, NC55 mph44 mph84 milesSep 11, 1984, 8:00 PM EDT
Hilton Head Island, SC51 mph42 mph113 milesSep 11, 1984, 6:45 AM EDT
Deltona, FL49 mph40 mph73 milesSep 9, 1984, 8:00 PM EDT

What happened

Diana came within 20 miles of Cape Fear, North Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane on September 11, 1984, looped offshore and weakened, then came ashore near Bald Head Island early on September 13.1 NHC's best track puts landfall at 0700 UTC (3 a.m. EDT) as a Category 1 hurricane with 80-knot (92 mph) winds and a 979 mb central pressure.2

Peak winds of 115 mph were measured at Fort Fisher Air Force Station and the Oak Island Coast Guard Station, and Wilmington's airport recorded a 74 mph gust.1 Tides ran up to 5.5 feet above normal in southern New Hanover County before landfall, and landfall near low tide limited the surge.1 Rain topped 18 inches in Southport, and Wilmington measured 13.72 inches.1

Two motels in Carolina Beach lost their roofs, at least two motels in Kure Beach had major roof damage, and wind destroyed several residential buildings under construction in Carolina Beach.1 In Long Beach, now part of Oak Island, the town manager counted 4 homes and 1 business destroyed, 181 homes with major damage and 433 with minor damage.1 About a third of the buildings in Holden Beach had at least minor roof damage.1 In Horry County, South Carolina, Storm Data lists damage to 90 homes, 8 mobile homes, 40 multi-unit dwellings and a few businesses.1 Diana caused 3 deaths in southeastern North Carolina, and Brunswick, New Hanover, Columbus, Bladen and Pender counties were declared disaster areas by President Reagan.1

Sources

  1. 1. NWS Wilmington, NC: Hurricane Diana: September 11-14, 1984
  2. 2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851 to 2025

Best track (33 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 8, 12:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1008 mb28.5°N, 77.4°W
Sep 8, 18:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph1006 mb28.6°N, 78.3°W
Sep 9, 00:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph1004 mb28.5°N, 79.2°W
Sep 9, 06:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph1002 mb28.6°N, 79.7°W
Sep 9, 12:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph1000 mb29.0°N, 79.9°W
Sep 9, 18:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph995 mb29.4°N, 80.1°W
Sep 10, 00:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph994 mb29.7°N, 80.4°W
Sep 10, 06:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph995 mb30.1°N, 80.3°W
Sep 10, 12:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane75 mph991 mb30.5°N, 80.0°W
Sep 10, 18:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane81 mph986 mb30.8°N, 79.6°W
Sep 11, 00:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane92 mph980 mb31.3°N, 79.1°W
Sep 11, 06:00 UTCCategory 2 hurricane98 mph973 mb31.8°N, 78.7°W
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