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A tree on West Campus twisted and snapped by hurricane Hazel

On This Day: October 15, 1954

Hurricane Hazel Hits North Carolina

Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 hurricane season and the first Category 4 storm to hit the North Carolina coast, according to the National Weather Service. It arrived at Duke during homecoming weekend, with wind gusts of 90 miles per hour in Durham.