OUTER BANKS, N.C. — A low-pressure system strengthening off the Outer Banks of North Carolina is expected to bring several days of rough surf, beach erosion and coastal flooding this week, and Dare County has ordered visitors to leave Hatteras Island.
The storm is forming along the same cold front that dropped temperatures across the Carolinas over the weekend, and it is expected to grow stronger in the Atlantic through Monday. Forecasters expect flood water to rise 1 to 3 feet above ground in parts of the islands, while waves of 10 to 20 feet churn offshore. Alerts for high surf, coastal flooding and wind cover stretches of the East Coast.
The National Hurricane Center is watching where the low sets up. If it parks over the warm Gulf Stream, it could take on subtropical traits, and the next name on the list is Josephine.
The biggest worry is the road. Highway 12 is the only road through Hatteras Island and is regularly cut off by storms and overwash, which can leave whole communities stranded. Residents on Hatteras and Ocracoke have been urged to get out before water makes the highway impassable.
For now the road is open. Department of Transportation crews spent Saturday and Sunday pushing sand onto the dunes at Pea Island and the Canal Zone, two low spots where dunes line both sides of the pavement and overwash tends to pool.
Getting care can also become harder. The Outer Banks Hospital is the only inpatient hospital on the islands, and during evacuations or long closures, patients may have to travel more than 90 miles to a mainland hospital. The Outer Banks sits in one of the most hurricane-exposed zones on the East Coast.
Filed under: Outer Banks NC Weather News
