12 Facts About Hurricane Isabel

Hurricane Isabel was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Mitch, and the deadliest, costliest, and most intense hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season.

Hurricane Isabel was the strongest hurricane in the open waters of the Atlantic, both by wind speed and central pressure, before being surpassed by hurricanes Irma and Dorian in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

Hurricane Isabel quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over western Pennsylvania on the next day.

In North Carolina, the storm surge from Hurricane Isabel washed out a portion of Hatteras Island to form what was unofficially known as Hurricane Isabel Inlet.

The worst of the effects of Hurricane Isabel occurred in Virginia, especially in the Hampton Roads area and along the shores of rivers as far west and north as Richmond and Baltimore.

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Hurricane Isabel displayed a "pinwheel" eye, a rare feature that is found in some annular tropical cyclones.

Two days before Isabel made landfall, the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch from Little River, South Carolina to Chincoteague, Virginia, including the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds and the lower Chesapeake Bay.

Strong winds from Hurricane Isabel extended from North Carolina to New England and westward to West Virginia.

Rip currents from Hurricane Isabel killed a surfer at an unguarded beach in Nassau County, with an additional six people requiring rescue from the currents.

Winds from Hurricane Isabel downed hundreds of trees and power lines across New Jersey, leaving hundreds of thousands without power; a falling tree killed one person.

Moisture from Hurricane Isabel dropped light rainfall across eastern Michigan and peaked at 1.

Swells from Hurricane Isabel produced moderate surf along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, particularly in the Gulf of Maine.