Hurricane Ione

Hurricane Ione (/aɪˈoʊn/) was a strong, Category 4 hurricane that affected the U.S. state of North Carolina in September 1955, bringing high winds and significant rainfall. It came on the heels of Hurricanes Connie and Diane, and compounded problems already caused by the two earlier hurricanes. Spawned by a tropical wave which left the African coast on September 6, the system became a tropical depression in the tropical North Atlantic, before turning northwest and developing into a hurricane. After turning back to the west east of the Bahamas, Ione turned northwest and northward, moving across eastern North Carolina before moving east-northeastward out to sea. Ione caused $600 million (2005 USD) in damage, much of it to crops across North Carolina. As a result of Ione's impacts seven people died.