OUTER BANKS, N.C. — Two weather advisories cover the Northern Outer Banks this weekend, with shallow saltwater flooding expected along the sound and ocean side and rough surf pounding the beaches.
The National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City set a coastal flood advisory that runs from 5 a.m. Saturday until 11 a.m. Monday. Forecasters expect water 1 to 2 feet deep over normally dry ground in low spots along the sounds, canals and oceanfront. That is enough to put saltwater in parking lots, yards, parks and some streets, though the office rates the threat to property as low.
A separate high surf advisory runs until midnight Sunday. The office is calling for 6- to 8-foot breakers, some beach erosion in spots and only a few road closures. Swimmers and surfers are being told to stay out of the water because of strong rip currents, which tend to be strongest in the couple of hours on either side of Saturday’s low tide, due around 1 p.m.
The water will not ease quickly. A king tide cycle keeps tide levels climbing through the coming work week, with the morning high tide running higher than the evening one. Forecasters say the king tides peak on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Drivers should allow extra time, avoid barricaded roads and never drive through water of unknown depth. Residents in flood-prone spots should move vehicles and protect property ahead of each morning high tide.
The advisories land on a coastline already worn down by two storms in less than a month. Rough surf and overwash have repeatedly closed stretches of NC 12, and the state has been running emergency ferries between Stumpy Point and Rodanthe while crews rebuild dunes near the Pea Island Visitor Center. Another stretch of high water and big waves could slow that work and threaten fresh overwash on the most exposed sections of the island highway. Anyone heading to Hatteras Island this weekend should check road and ferry conditions before leaving.
Filed under: Outer Banks NC Weather News
