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Hurricane Bertha (1996)

Hurricane Bertha was a Category 3 hurricane at its peak, with 115 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 960 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 20 of the cities we track; the strongest was Wilmington, NC, with a modeled peak gust of 97 mph.

Peak strength115 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 3
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
20
LandfallsFirst July 12, 1996
1
Lowest pressure
960 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 Bertha’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. July 12, 1996, Category 2 at 104 mph, about 8 miles from Wilmington, NC

Modeled winds at cities (20)

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

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Wilmington, NC97 mph79 mph3 milesJul 12, 1996, 1:45 PM EDT
Myrtle Beach, SC87 mph71 mph46 milesJul 12, 1996, 1:45 PM EDT
Fayetteville, NC80 mph65 mph77 milesJul 12, 1996, 4:00 PM EDT
Atlantic City, NJ70 mph57 mph33 milesJul 13, 1996, 12:15 PM EDT
Providence, RI70 mph57 mph31 milesJul 13, 1996, 8:00 PM EDT
Virginia Beach, VA69 mph56 mph47 milesJul 13, 1996, 3:15 AM EDT
Raleigh, NC67 mph55 mph72 milesJul 12, 1996, 4:00 PM EDT
Norwich, CT64 mph52 mph21 milesJul 13, 1996, 6:15 PM EDT
Boston, MA62 mph51 mph19 milesJul 13, 1996, 8:30 PM EDT
Durham, NC61 mph50 mph89 milesJul 12, 1996, 4:00 PM EDT
New York, NY57 mph46 mph5 milesJul 13, 1996, 1:45 PM EDT
Charleston, SC56 mph46 mph98 milesJul 12, 1996, 2:00 PM EDT
Show all 20

What happened

After crossing the northeastern Caribbean islands, Bertha came ashore on the North Carolina coast midway between Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Beach at 2000 UTC (4 p.m. EDT) on July 12, 1996.1,2 NHC estimates Category 2 winds of 90 knots (104 mph) at landfall and a 974 mb central pressure.1

Measured gusts reached 94 knots (108 mph) at the New River Marine Corps Air Station near Jacksonville and 80 to 83 knots (92 to 96 mph) at Kure Beach, Wrightsville Beach and Figure Eight Island.1,3 NHC estimates storm surge up to 5 feet from Cape Fear to Cape Lookout and 6 feet or a little more near Swansboro, where 5 to 6 feet of water stood inside waterfront businesses.1 A survey found more than 5,000 homes damaged in North Carolina, mostly by storm surge, along with roof damage and piers washed away in coastal counties.1 About a quarter of the homes on North Topsail Beach lost roofs, 40 homes were destroyed in Surf City, Wrightsville Beach had widespread roof damage, and more than 100 homes were damaged in Wilmington.3 Seven tornadoes were confirmed, five in Virginia, one in North Carolina and one in Maryland.1 On St. Thomas and St. John in the US Virgin Islands, almost 2,500 homes were damaged.1 NHC ties 12 deaths to Bertha and estimates US damage at $270 million.1

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report: Hurricane Bertha, 5 to 14 July 1996
  2. 2. NWS Newport/Morehead City: Hurricane Bertha
  3. 3. NWS Wilmington, NC: Hurricane Bertha: July 12, 1996

Best track (51 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Jul 5, 00:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1009 mb9.8°N, 34.0°W
Jul 5, 06:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1008 mb10.2°N, 36.3°W
Jul 5, 12:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1007 mb11.0°N, 39.0°W
Jul 5, 18:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1006 mb12.0°N, 41.2°W
Jul 6, 00:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1005 mb12.7°N, 43.9°W
Jul 6, 06:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1004 mb13.1°N, 46.6°W
Jul 6, 12:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph1002 mb13.7°N, 48.7°W
Jul 6, 18:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph1000 mb14.2°N, 51.0°W
Jul 7, 00:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph999 mb14.9°N, 52.9°W
Jul 7, 06:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph997 mb15.6°N, 54.8°W
Jul 7, 12:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph995 mb16.4°N, 56.9°W
Jul 7, 18:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane81 mph992 mb16.5°N, 58.4°W
Show all 51