On Wednesday afternoon, January 15, Dare County Schools (DCS) Superintendent Steve Basnight shared the following message regarding the recent PowerSchool security breach, which affects Dare County Schools and school systems around the globe. For more information from DCS, click here. Dare County Schools Community: The PowerSchool Student Information System (“PowerSchool”) has been in use at [...] Local News |  Full Article

A communications outage was reported on Wednesday morning at approximately 11:00 a.m., affecting cell phone and internet service on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands. According to an alert from the Dare County Sheriff’s Office, 911 service on the islands may be impacted. Residents and visitors who need emergency services or communications are advised to try texting [...] Local News |  Full Article

From SamWalkerOBXNews.com Work will begin Friday to place massive sandbags alongside N.C. 12 at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, which the North Carolina Department of Transportation says is a temporary solution to protect the highway from ocean overwash caused by extreme tides and storms. The project is meant to mitigate the type [...] Local News |  Full Article

From SamWalkerOBX.com Yes, it’s winter and it gets cold along the Outer Banks and in northeastern North Carolina around this time of year. With the recent spate of frigid actual temperatures and what’s commonly referred to as “wind chill,” including over the next few days, that has led to the issuance of advisories using new [...] Local News |  Full Article

The Dare County Special Olympics invites the public to take part in the organization’s annual Polar Plunge fundraising event beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at Jennette’s Pier, which is located at 7223 S. Virginia Dare Trail in Nags Head. The schedule of events for the 2025 Polar Plunge event will be as follows: 10 a.m. [...] Local News |  Full Article

The new Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) store in Buxton is scheduled to open in April or early May of 2025, replacing the current store located across the street in the Osprey Shopping Center. The original store, which opened in 1987 and was the first ABC store on Hatteras Island, has become too small for the [...] Local News |  Full Article

The first modeled, historical water level and wave dataset for the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf coasts was released today by NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS). This comprehensive dataset — known as Coastal Ocean Reanalysis (CORA) — advances NOAA’s ability to better serve the nation’s coastal communities and lays the foundation for future NOAA coastal flooding products. The [...] Local News |  Full Article

From SamWalkerOBXNews.com Jan. 14 Update: No one was injured following a house fire on the Dare County mainland that shut down traffic along U.S. 64 between Manns Harbor and the Alligator River early Monday. The fire involving a single-story home near Pump Road in East Lake started sometime before 5:30 a.m. A lone occupant escaped [...] Local News |  Full Article

From SamWalkerOBXNews.com Three artificial reefs located off the Outer Banks are scheduled to receive new materials in a plan announced Wednesday by state officials. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries’ Artificial Reef Program has finalized its five-year timeline for ocean reef enhancements funded by Coastal Recreational Fishing License revenues. An [...] Local News |  Full Article

Though established for less than a year, the Buxton Civic Association (BCA) had a long list of achievements to share with a crowd of roughly 20 attendees at their annual meeting on Wednesday, January 8. The BCA formed in April 2024 to create a unified response to the accelerating environmental and public safety issues at Buxton [...] Local News |  Full Article

From SamWalkerOBXNews.com A massive winter storm moving across the country Friday and Saturday is expected to bring most of northeastern North Carolina a blast of wintry precipitation. But as is typical with coastal lows such as this one, the region is going to be sharply divided between areas that see mostly snow, a mixed of [...] Local News |  Full Article

On Dec. 11, the Outer Banks Community Foundation (OBCF) hosted its annual David Stick Legacy Society Luncheon at Basnight’s Lone Cedar Cafe, where Tess Judge was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of North Carolina’s most esteemed honors. The Order of the Long Leaf Pine was conferred to Tess Judge by former [...] Local News |  Full Article

From SamWalkerOBXNews.com After flirting with wintry precipitation the last two storms, it looks like the third time’s the charm for much of northeastern North Carolina late Friday night and into Saturday. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for all of the region except the Dare beaches and Ocracoke, as a low [...] Local News |  Full Article

Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative (CHEC) recently concluded a cost-of-service study, which is conducted periodically to ensure that electricity rates are sufficient to cover the cooperative’s power costs and operating expenses. The cost-of-service study also ensures that rates are allocated equitably between residential and commercial members. CHEC’s rate consultant, along with management, reviewed the results of [...] Local News |  Full Article

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries’ Artificial Reef Program has finalized its five-year timeline for ocean reef enhancements funded by Coastal Recreational Fishing License revenues. The timeline follows public input on reef sites and materials the division received this fall. The Artificial Reef Program plans to complete one project per [...] Local News |  Full Article