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Hurricane Charley (1986)

Hurricane Charley was a Category 1 hurricane at its peak, with 81 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 980 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 2 of the cities we track; the strongest was Virginia Beach, VA, with a modeled peak gust of 71 mph.

Peak strength81 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 1
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
2
LandfallsFirst August 17, 1986
1
Lowest pressure
980 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 Charley’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. August 17, 1986, Category 1 at 75 mph, about 86 miles from Wilmington, NC

Modeled winds at cities (2)

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

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Virginia Beach, VA71 mph58 mph20 milesAug 17, 1986, 6:45 PM EDT
Wilmington, NC54 mph44 mph65 milesAug 17, 1986, 6:15 AM EDT

What happened

Charley formed off the South Carolina coast on August 15, 1986, and barely reached hurricane strength.1 NHC's best track marks its landfall on the North Carolina coast at 10 a.m. EDT on August 17, with sustained winds of 65 knots (75 mph) and a central pressure of 990 mb.2

Peak gusts reached 80 mph at Frisco in Dare County, North Carolina, 82 mph at Cape Henry, Virginia, and 78 mph at Ocean City, Maryland.1 The southern Chesapeake Bay Bridge recorded sustained winds of 97 mph and a gust to 104 mph.1 Storm tides ran mostly 2 to 3 feet above normal, but they came on top of high tides and caused some coastal flooding and beach erosion.1

NHC's report puts damage at about $400,000 in North Carolina, mostly from tidal flooding and fallen trees, with some building damage.1 Damage was estimated at $310,000 in Norfolk and $80,000 in Virginia Beach, where part of a motel roof blew off and two homes under construction were blown down.1 Nantucket, Massachusetts, had street flooding and about $75,000 in damage in its harbor.1 The report lists five deaths associated with Charley.1

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Charley, 13 to 30 August 1986
  2. 2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851 to 2023

Best track (68 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Aug 13, 12:00 UTCSubtropical depression12 mph1009 mb30.1°N, 84.0°W
Aug 13, 18:00 UTCSubtropical depression12 mph1012 mb30.8°N, 84.0°W
Aug 14, 00:00 UTCSubtropical depression12 mph1013 mb31.4°N, 83.6°W
Aug 14, 06:00 UTCSubtropical depression12 mph1014 mb32.0°N, 83.1°W
Aug 14, 12:00 UTCSubtropical depression12 mph1015 mb32.5°N, 82.5°W
Aug 14, 18:00 UTCSubtropical depression12 mph1015 mb32.4°N, 82.0°W
Aug 15, 00:00 UTCSubtropical depression17 mph1013 mb32.3°N, 81.2°W
Aug 15, 06:00 UTCSubtropical depression17 mph1013 mb32.3°N, 80.0°W
Aug 15, 12:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1009 mb32.2°N, 79.0°W
Aug 15, 18:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1007 mb32.2°N, 78.5°W
Aug 16, 00:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph1004 mb32.3°N, 78.1°W
Aug 16, 06:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph1002 mb32.4°N, 77.9°W
Show all 68