Kirk, Milton may bring rip currents, rough surf, ocean overwash to the Outer Banks this week

Long periods swells from distant Hurricane Kirk will begin to arrive along area beaches on Sunday, bringing an increased rip current risk and the threat of beach erosion and ocean overwash, according to an update from the National Weather Service (NWS) Newport/Morehead City office.

The swells from Kirk will peak Sunday night and Monday, and then slowly subside on Tuesday.

A High Rip Current risk is in effect for the beaches from Duck to Cape Lookout on Sunday.

A  High Surf Advisory is also in effect for the beaches from Oregon Inlet to Cape Lookout tonight through Monday for surf heights up to 8 ft.

Later in the week, NWS forecasters will be watching the track of Tropical Storm Milton closely, which is expected to push across the Florida peninsula on Wednesday and then pass well south of the Outer Banks area on Thursday.

“Additional coastal impacts will be possible as tightening pressure gradients between this system and high pressure building in from the west will bring strengthening NE winds with potentially minor to moderate coastal flooding impacts across vulnerable locations of the coast,” stated the NWS Sunday morning update.

The most likely areas for oceanside flooding are vulnerable areas that have experienced overwash issues for the past few weeks, including northern Ocracoke, north Buxton and northern Rodanthe.

A list of local Outer Banks resources for additional information is below.

• For information on the local forecast, visit weather.gov/mhx for general weather information, or the National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NWSMoreheadCity/.
• For updates regarding road conditions, visit DriveNC.gov and follow the North Carolina Department of Transportation and NCDOT NC 12 on Facebook. The Dare County Sheriff’s Office also shares local road condition updates on its Facebook page.
• To get notified of ferry delays or cancellations, sign up for text and/or email alerts via the N.C. Ferry System’s FINS system: www.ncdot.gov/fins.
• For rip current information and other beach hazards, sign up for text alerts from Dare County, ocean rescue agencies, and the National Weather Service by texting “OBXBeachConditions” to 77295.