Graphs, Damage Pics From Hurricane Arthur

UPDATE: Here are selected loops of Hurricane Arthur, in 4-hour increments (not including landfall because I was asleep) captured from GREarth software, showing radar, satellite, observations, local storm reports, pressure fields, and lightning, from July 1 to July 4, from Florida to New England:

Hurricane Arthur, making landfall early on Independence Day, was the earliest hurricane on record in North Carolina. Since Hurricane Sandy was not technically a hurricane when it flooded New York City in 2012, Arthur was also the strongest landfalling hurricane in the U.S. since Ike in 2008 (source). It was also the third Arthur to affect the Carolinas in the past 20 years (source). As I wrote earlier this week, it was also the first Hurricane to threaten the U.S. on July Fourth.

Above: What Hurricane Arthur looked like at landfall on radar (around 3 a.m.) and on satellite after sunrise.

SEE MAPS FROM YESTERDAY | COMPARING ALEX 2004 to ARTHUR 2014

This morning, there was no sign of Highway 12 at the Mirlo Beach "S-Curves" where the highway typically take the brunt of the overwash. It was buried under sand, seaweed, and salt water:

Below are some additional storm surge "before and after" pictures from OBXCams.com, taken this morning around 8 a.m.:

Buoy #41036 had the most impressive readings, with pressure plunging to 28.84" Hg and winds to 70 knots (81 mph) with waves of 28.9 feet! Winds gusted to 101 mph on land; we have more stats available in this Infographic. Oak Island, North Carolina, where I go to the beach, has the top rainfall amount with over 3 inches.

The previous two Arthurs are shown below, along with this one: Tropical Storm Arthur 1996, and Tropical Storm Arthur 2002. Arthur 1996 was the beginning of a banner season for the Carolinas, where I lived at the time.