North Carolina Storm Seekers

16/09/2025

The ocean claimed another house in Buxton NC Hatteras NC OBX.

The ocean claims another house on the Outer Banks thanks to the coastal low. An unoccupied house collapsed during the afternoon at 46227 Tower Circle Road, Buxton.
via NPS

A pre-existing beach safety closure from the north end of Buxton to around off-road vehicle ramp 43 may need to be expanded, depending on the extent of the debris field. Visitors should also avoid the north end of Rodanthe due to the presence of threatened oceanfront structures.
The collapse of the house at 46227 Tower Circle Road is the 12th house collapse on Seashore beaches over the past five years. Learn more about the threatened oceanfront structures that border the Seashore at: http://go.nps.gov/cahatos

16/09/2025

Nearly one year has passed since Hurricane Helene struck the southeastern United States. To commemorate the anniversary, NCEI has released a story map explaining the origins of the disaster, the event itself, and the aftermath. Learn more about the effects the hurricane had on the region, including upon NCEI headquarters, which found itself directly in Helene’s path: https://bit.ly/HeleneStoryMap

10/09/2025

Some of the strongest hurricanes happen during the second half of the hurricane season. Examples like Helene and Milton last year. Can't forget about Sandy, Hazel, and many others that impacted lives.

👇More info/registration, in the comments
We won't say the "Q" word, but we are all happy with how hurricane season has been going the past week or two. Please don't let your guard down just yet, as we have had some big storms later in September and October (Hazel and Matthew). Join us over the next month for more hurricane forums so you can be prepared.

28/08/2025

23/08/2025

22/08/2025

More great news from the OBX!

NEWS RELEASE — The National Park Service is continuing to conduct assessments of park facilities for impacts from Hurricane Erin, as the North Carolina Department of Transportation crews’ clear sand and water from the roadway from Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Village. As this work continues, Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) reopened facilities north of Oregon Inlet and is preparing for the return of visitors to Ocracoke Island tomorrow and Hatteras Island in the coming days.

Park updates are outlined below:

Visitor Facilities:

Bodie Island Lighthouse climbing resumed today, August 22nd.

Campgrounds:

Oregon Inlet Campground is open to visitors. Ocracoke Campground will resume operations tomorrow for visitors returning to the island.

Beaches and Off-Road Vehicle Access:

Off-road vehicle (ORV) ramps 2 and 4 in the Bodie Island district are open for visitor access. Beach access on Ocracoke Island will reopen tomorrow at noon or as available.

Due to the presence of threatened oceanfront structures, the Seashore remains closed to beach access in Rodanthe from the terminus of Old Highway 12 to the end of the Ocean Drive and in front of the village of Buxton southward to Ramp 43.

As assessments continue, additional updates will be provided.

22/08/2025

Amazing technology we have to record storms with no human interaction!

This graph shows some of the incredible data Station 41001 captured while weathering the eye of .

After wind gusts spiked at over 70 knots, wind speeds fell to about 30 knots for several hours, accompanied by a large drop in pressure. After this brief respite, the intensity returned, with winds quickly increasing again before the storm moved away and left our buoy with a great story to tell and some fascinating images showing the difference in sea-state inside the eye.

In the 49 years this buoy has been reporting, this was the highest significant wave measurement (44.9 ft) and lowest barometric pressure (962.4 mb) it has ever seen. We’re proud to say, even after these record-breaking conditions, Station 41001 is still going strong!

NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center
US National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City NC

22/08/2025

Clean up is underway for the Outer Banks. So far, nothing major has been reported, not even damage to the road itself. Great news!

Good news! Reinforcements have arrived from Tyrrell, Hyde and Currituck counties to help us with the recovery process on NC 12. We are very grateful for their help!

At this point, we'd like to answer the dozens of questions we're receiving about a timeline to reopen the highway. The answer is, we don't have one yet. Before we can schedule a reopening, three things need to happen:

1. Hurricane Erin needs to STOP sending us her ocean overwash. The coastal flood advisory ends at 1 a.m. tomorrow, so we're hopeful that the tides will be kinder to us going forward.

2. We need to repair the dune breaches and clear the highway of standing water and sand, and then check to make sure there is no pavement damage (so far, we have no indications of any pavement damage).

3) Assuming no pavement damage, we clear the road as best we can so it is safe to travel and then reopen it. If there is pavement damage, that will be a longer process.

We understand that Saturday is 'turnaround day' on the Outer Banks. We understand how badly you want to get here. Trust us, no one wants to see this highway reopened more than we do.

When we have a timeline on reopening, we will say so here. We will issue a press release. We'd shout it from the mountaintops if there were any mountains around here to shout it from.

But safety is Job One, and we won't be reopening Highway 12 until it is safe to do so.

We will post more information here when it becomes available.

21/08/2025

Storm surge at the Atlantic Beach NC circle this evening.

20/08/2025

Strong waves are slowly eating away at the Oceanna Pier on Atlantic Beach North Carolina. 🥺🥺

20/08/2025

10-12 ft waves crashing at Fort Macon, Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. High tide is in a few hours.

20/08/2025

Winds are on the rise here on Harkers Island, North Carolina. A Tropical Storm Warning remains as Hurricane Erin makes a close appearance tonight and early morning. Wind gusts at times could reach between 45-55 mph with occasional rainbands. No freshwater flooding is expected. A Coastal Flood Warning and Storm Surge Warning will cause some roads to be flooded during high tide and on north-facing beaches and the sound side. High tide will be at 6 PM this evening. Just behind Cape Lookout and the Core Banks, monster waves are crashing ashore on the east-facing beaches. I will try to get some of that on video shortly.