Dare County Prepares for Dangerous Conditions; Road Closures May Become Necessary With Heavy Rain and Wind

From Dare County

October 7, 2016 12:30 p.m. 

The Dare County Control Group met this morning to review the latest information from the National Weather Service concerning dangerous conditions that are expected this weekend due to Hurricane Matthew.

Dare County is now under a Tropical Storm Warning. According to the Weather Service, the combination of abnormally high coastal water levels, storm surge, and extremely heavy rainfall is expected to cause a dangerous and life threatening flooding event for the Outer Banks. The National Weather Service has indicated that we should expect ocean overwash in vulnerable areas. We should also expect soundside flooding of up to 4 feet above ground in areas prone to flooding, primarily on Hatteras Island.

The National Weather Service is highly discouraging travel across northeastern North Carolina this weekend.  As conditions deteriorate, road closures and travel restrictions are anticipated in Dare County, particularly for portions of Highway 12 on Hatteras Island.

Because of dangerous travel conditions, visitors throughout Dare County are encouraged to depart today (Friday) and travel to the area should be postponed until conditions improve. For information regarding road conditions and closures, visit tims.ncdot.gov/tims. For the most up to date information regarding the status of NC12, visit www.facebook.com/NCDOTNC12.

The latest forecast also calls for tropical storm force winds with potential for downed trees and power outages.  Vulnerable homes and buildings near tall trees have the potential for downed trees falling on them.

By 5:00 pm today, all visitor services and facilities at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Memorial will be closed until further notice.

Dare County Emergency Management strongly urges all residents and visitors to heed the following warnings –

  • If you are in a low-lying area, or an area prone to flooding, relocate to higher ground. This is especially important for those with special medical needs.
  • Residents in low-lying areas should take action to protect personal property by moving to higher ground. This includes vehicles.
  • Complete your disaster preparedness kits and other safety preparations now.
  • Stay out of the ocean due to the high threat of rip current.
  • Monitor trusted sources of information for life saving alerts. NOAA Weather Radio is an excellent resource for emergency alerts.

To receive email updates directly from Dare County Emergency Management, register online at www.darecountyem.com and follow @DareCountyEM on Twitter.

To stay up to date with the latest weather and traffic conditions in Dare County, download the free Ready NC App at www.readync.org. 

View the latest watches, warnings and advisories from the National Weather Service at www.weather.gov/mhx. 

Residents and visitors can contact Dare County Emergency Management by calling 252.475.5655 or visiting www.darenc.com for updated information.