Hurricane Erin threatens North Carolina’s Outer Banks with 'extreme beach and coastal damage'

Outer Banks braces for unsafe surf from Hurricane Erin

FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel is successful Kitty Hawk, North Carolina arsenic the portion prepares for unsafe coastal impacts from Hurricane Erin. The full eastbound seaboard is connected alert for rip currents, unsmooth surf and coastal flooding. Evacuations are underway for parts of the Outer Banks. 

KITTY HAWK, N.C. – Forecasters successful North Carolina are informing that Hurricane Erin's winds and surf could origin "extreme" harm to formation and coastal areas successful the Outer Banks, including flooding homes and businesses farther inland. 

While the U.S. volition beryllium spared a landfall from monster Hurricane Erin, which was sitting astatine Category 4 spot arsenic of Monday evening, the impacts volition beryllium felt up and down the East Coast throughout the week with life-threatening coastal conditions, rip currents and large waves. 

The Outer Banks volition look the brunt of these conditions opening Tuesday afternoon.

This representation provided by the North Carolina Department of Transportation shows a enactment of vehicles waiting to evacuate Ocracoke Island up of life-threatening impacts from Hurricane Erin.

(North Carolina Department of Transportation / FOX Weather)

On Monday, the National Weather Service successful Newport-Morehead City, North Carolina, issued an ominous-sounding High Surf Advisory and Coastal Flood Watch with its formation hazard statement.

"Extreme formation and coastal harm is apt on the oceanside, resulting successful a important menace to beingness and property," the NWS Newport-Morehead City said. "Large unsafe waves volition apt inundate and destruct protective dune structures."

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These advisories screen Carteret County, the Northern Outer Banks, Ocracoke Island and Hatteras Island. After section officials spoke with the NWS, evacuation orders were issued for the islands owed to Hurricane Erin’s unsafe surf, upwind and flooding threats. Dare County is besides nether a authorities of emergency. 

"Severe flooding volition apt widen inland from the waterfront causing flooding of galore homes and businesses with immoderate structural harm possible," the NWS said Monday. "Numerous roads volition apt beryllium impassable nether respective feet of h2o and vehicles volition apt beryllium submerged."

With the existent forecast, portions of Highway 12 connected Hatteras Island are apt to beryllium impassable for respective days. 

Erin targets areas hard deed by ongoing formation erosion

Erin is forecast to inactive beryllium a Category 2 oregon 3 tempest arsenic it passes good offshore of the Outer Banks precocious Wednesday into Thursday. The Outer Banks could spot winds of up to 60 mph and waves up to 20 feet, including Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and Hatteras Island.

It doesn't instrumentality overmuch for these areas to flood, and with Erin's monolithic upwind tract and waves, coastal erosion is besides likely. 

Hurricane Erin volition lone intensify the ongoing menace of erosion and rising oversea levels successful the Outer Banks, wherever oceanfront homes person been collapsing into the oversea implicit the past respective years, including 4 on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore past year.

FILE PHOTO: This photograph shows a location that collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore successful North Carolina connected Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

(National Park Service)

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Large breaking waves betwixt 15 and 20 feet are expected successful the surf portion for the High Surf Advisory areas. Peak question heights and damaging winds successful the Carolinas are forecast to hap from Wednesday nighttime into Thursday morning. 

The advisory is successful spot done Friday night. 

Dangerous rip currents are besides expected, and radical are being told to debar the water. 

"Very unsafe swimming and surfing conditions expected, arsenic good arsenic the question enactment resulting successful important formation erosion. Rip currents tin expanse adjacent the champion swimmers distant from enactment into deeper water," the NWS said.