official data (Dare County Bulletin #1, Oct 16; NWS Newport/Morehead City Coastal Flood Warning, High Surf and Wind Advisories)
Hatteras Island visitors are ordered out as a nor'easter threatens to cut off N.C. 12
COASTAL FLOOD // HATTERAS ISLAND, N.C.
2 to 4feet of inundation
Coastal Flood Warning for Hatteras Island, 5 PM Sat to 8 AM Tue; visitors under a mandatory evacuation order (NWS, Dare County)
The road off Hatteras Island is one strip of asphalt between the ocean and the sound, and the county expects the sea to take it. Visitors were told to leave Friday night, before the water arrives.
Key facts
- Order
- State of emergency from 6 PM Fri Oct 16; mandatory evacuation for visitors from 8 PM; no order for residents or for areas north of Oregon Inlet (Dare County)
- Villages
- Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras Village (Dare County)
- Coastal Flood Warning
- Hatteras Island, 5 PM Sat Oct 17 to 8 AM Tue Oct 20; 2 to 4 ft of inundation above ground level in low lying areas (NWS Newport/Morehead City)
- Road
- Vulnerable parts of NC 12 may be inundated, especially around high tide; county expects an extended closure (NWS, Dare County)
- Surf and wind
- Breakers 8 to 14 ft, 2 PM Sat to 8 AM Tue; north winds 30 to 40 mph, gusts to 55 mph, until 8 PM Mon (NWS)
- Ferries
- NWS says to prepare for ferry disruptions by Saturday evening lasting into at least part of next week
There is a possibility of being stranded on Hatteras Island for multiple days. This could be life threatening if you have an emergency.
NWS Newport/Morehead City, Coastal Flood Warning, Oct 17
Note
Dare County declared a state of emergency for Hatteras Island at 6 PM on Friday, October 16, and ordered every visitor on the island to leave starting at 8 PM. The order covers all seven villages: Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras Village. It does not apply to residents, or to anyone north of Oregon Inlet. The county said an updated National Weather Service forecast showed greater impacts from a developing coastal nor'easter, and that prolonged flooding and repeated ocean overwash will likely close N.C. Highway 12 for an extended period, cutting off road access to and from the island.
The county said conditions would worsen through Saturday and into Sunday morning, with the greatest risk of overwash around each high tide beginning near 1 PM Saturday. The National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City has a Coastal Flood Warning for Hatteras Island from 5 PM Saturday to 8 AM Tuesday, calling for 2 to 4 feet of inundation above ground level in low lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways. It says vulnerable portions of NC 12 may be inundated, that people may be stranded on the island for multiple days, and that ferries may be disrupted from Saturday evening into next week.
A High Surf Advisory calls for breaking waves of 8 to 14 feet through Tuesday morning, and a Wind Advisory issued at 2:14 PM Saturday calls for north winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 55 mph until 8 PM Monday. The warning describes a long event, with overwash through multiple high tide cycles into next week.
The island is being emptied of the people who can leave. The tide will keep coming back to test the road.
Why it matters
Hatteras Island has one road in and out. When the ocean washes over N.C. 12, the island is cut off, and the county chose to clear visitors before that happens rather than after.
Sources
- Dare County, NC: Bulletin #1, Mandatory Evacuation Ordered for Hatteras Island Visitors (Oct 16, 6:37 PM EDT)
- NWS Newport/Morehead City Coastal Flood Warning, Hatteras Island (issued 5:02 AM EDT Oct 17)
- NWS Newport/Morehead City Wind Advisory (issued 2:14 PM EDT Oct 17)
- Hero data: NWS Newport/Morehead City; Dare County Bulletin #1
Primary + secondary attribution as listed.
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