North Carolina hurricanes: Hurricane Hazel, Hugo, Fran and other major storms throughout history

Hurricane Florence could inflict the hardest hurricane punch North Carolina has seen in years. The storm is currently approaching as a Category 2, though it was considered a Category 4 storm at one point as it churned across the Atlantic.

North Carolina has been hit by only one Category 4 storm since reliable record-keeping began in the 1850s. That was Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Hurricane Hugo made landfall in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane in 1989.

Look back at Hazel, Hugo and other historic storms from North Carolina's history in the video above.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.