N.C. Highway 12 is open and passable on Hatteras Island on Wednesday morning
N.C. Highway 12 is open and passable throughout Hatteras Island on Wednesday morning, however, some minor saltwater remains on local roads after a coastal storm brought island-wide soundside flooding on Tuesday, and caution is advised.
The highway remains closed on northern Ocracoke Island from the National Park Service Pony Pens to the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry Terminal as of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday due to ocean overwash, and Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry service is suspended. Per an alert on DriveNC.gov, the highway is expected to open by noon on Wednesday. Ocracoke-Cedar Island and Ocracoke-Swan Quarter ferries are running as scheduled.
Regular cycles of ocean overwash have been reported on northern Ocracoke Island since February 7, when the protective berm was compromised during a mid-week coastal storm. Once the highway reopens, travelers are advised to avoid N.C. Highway 12 on northern Ocracoke Island for an hour or two surrounding high tide. A one-vehicle fatal accident also occurred in the area on Tuesday morning, prior to the highway closing at approximately 11:30 a.m.
The brief coastal storm on Tuesday brought up to 3.3 feet of soundside flooding at multiple locations throughout Hatteras Island including Pea Island, the Tri-Villages, Avon, Frisco, and Hatteras, per data recorded from the NC Flooding Inundation Mapping and Alert Network.
No additional soundside flooding is expected on Wednesday, and water levels will continue to recede throughout the day.
Top wind gusts recorded throughout Hatteras Island on Tuesday, per the National Weather Service, include the following:
- Waves (Kitty Hawk Kites Resort) – 61 mph at 10:48 a.m.
- Oregon Inlet Coast Guard Station – 57 mph at 10:25 a.m.
- Avon – 45 mph at 11:52 a.m.
- Buxton – 44 mph at 8:00 a.m.
- Hatteras – 43 mph at 11:59 a.m.
For more information:
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. Users will get notified of any schedule changes directly from the terminal, and can unsubscribe at any time.
For more information on the local weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/mhx for 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.
