Matthew’s forecast track shifts north and west; heavy rain, surge likely

October 7, 2016 | Local News | By: Irene Nolan

Hurricane Matthew’s forecast track shifted slightly to the north overnight and then shifted again closer to the North Carolina coast this morning, bringing the storm closer to the Outer Banks before it moves east out into the Atlantic and eventually re-curves back down to the south.

There is already a small craft advisory in effect with seas in the near term forecast at 7 to 10 feet. Marine conditions will deteriorate rapidly with seas forecast to be 10 to 20 feet over the weekend.

A state of emergency, declared by Gov. Pat McCrory, is still in effect in coastal North Carolina. Also, both Dare and Hyde counties have declared states of emergency.

Ocracoke evacuated visitors Wednesday and cancelled Thursday’s mandatory evacuation for residents.

Dare officials say the state of emergency declaration for the county and its six towns will remain in place but have issued no evacuation orders.

However, in a news release this afternoon, county officials advised that road closures and travel restrictions are possible over the weekend.

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

The news release says that visitors to Dare County are encouraged to depart today and travel to the area should be postponed until conditions improve.

Dare County emergency management director Drew Pearson said in an email this afternoon that Dare County will “partially activate” its emergency control group at 9 a.m. on Saturday ” to ensure the appropriate public safety agencies are in place to address issues that arise as we realize storm impacts.”

Click here to see the latest briefing from the National Weather Service in Newport/Morehead City.

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

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

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

For local weather information, go to http://www.weather.gov/mhx/. The page has links to the tropical forecast. You can find the beach forecast, including the rip current forecast on the Island Free Press home page — at the top right. Click on the icon with the beach umbrella.