A nor'easter forming off the Carolina coast is bringing days of coastal flooding, high surf and strong winds to the Mid-Atlantic, with North Carolina's Outer Banks facing the most severe impacts, according to the National Weather Service and local officials.
The storm developed after a cold front stalled near the southeastern U.S. coast this past weekend, allowing low pressure to strengthen offshore, FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross reported. Unusually warm ocean waters off North Carolina and Virginia raised the possibility the system could briefly take on subtropical characteristics, though Norcross said the odds of that happening were low.
Evacuation Order and Road Closures on Hatteras Island
Dare County declared a state of emergency and issued a mandatory evacuation order for all visitors on Hatteras Island, effective 8 p.m. on Friday, October 16, according to the Island Free Press. The order covers all seven villages on the island — Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras — but does not apply to residents or to areas north of Oregon Inlet.
County officials said the order was unusual: mandatory evacuations of Hatteras Island have historically been tied to hurricanes or tropical storms, not nor'easters, the Island Free Press reported.
North Carolina Highway 12, the only road connecting Hatteras Island communities, was expected to close as early as Saturday afternoon due to ocean overwash and could remain closed for several days depending on storm duration and road damage, according to Fox Weather and the Island Free Press.
Flooding, Wind and Surf Forecasts
The National Weather Service upgraded coastal flood watches to coastal flood warnings for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, forecasting 2 to 4 feet of inundation above ground level in low-lying areas, with moderate flooding likely and major flooding possible in some spots, the Island Free Press reported. The northern Outer Banks were placed under a coastal flood advisory for 1 to 3 feet of inundation.
A wind advisory replaced an earlier high wind watch for the area, with north-to-northeast winds of 45 to 55 mph forecast. Peak gusts were expected near 50 mph in Rodanthe and Buxton, 49 mph on Ocracoke and 48 mph in Duck, according to the Island Free Press.
Offshore wave heights of 15 to 20 feet were projected near Diamond Shoals and Cape Hatteras, with 12 to 15 feet near Oregon Inlet, the Island Free Press reported. AOL, citing the same forecast data, reported breaking waves of 8 to 15 feet in the surf zone off the Outer Banks extending to the Maryland beaches.
Impacts Spreading Into Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey
Wind gusts up to 45 mph were expected in Virginia Beach and Currituck County, Virginia, through Sunday morning under a wind advisory, AOL reported.
Fox Weather said the storm's reach extended from Florida through the Carolinas to New Jersey, affecting millions from the Outer Banks to the Jersey Shore, with a Level 1 flash flood risk covering the Outer Banks on Monday and Tuesday.
Forecasters cautioned the nor'easter could become a long-duration event, with the greatest coastal flooding impacts expected during the Sunday and Monday high-tide cycles, though some flooding was possible into Tuesday, October 20.
Cold Air Follows the Storm
Behind the storm, freeze warnings were issued overnight into Sunday morning across 11 states — Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia — AOL reported. The coldest readings were forecast around Binghamton, New York, where temperatures could fall to 26 degrees Fahrenheit, with lows of 28 to 30 degrees expected in parts of West Virginia, southwest Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.
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