Seaside Vacations

The “November Nor’easter” has arrived and is hanging over the Outer Banks area.  The highest winds and the worst tides will occur today as the remnants of Ida glide by just south of Hatteras.

A coastal flood warning is in effect until 8:00am Saturday, November 14.  A coastal flood warning means flooding is occurring or imminent.

A strong low pressure system will move slowly along the coast today and produce strong northeast winds of 30 to 40 mph.  The strong winds and building seas could result in overwash and coastal flooding.

The low pressure will slowly move along the southeast NC coast through this afternoon as an upper level trough moves in from the northwest. Gusty winds will continue through Friday.  The low will move to a position just off the Outer Banks early Friday then slowly drift further offshore Friday night. This slow movement will compound the coastal flooding impacts and keep seas in the double digits entering into the weekend, especially over the Northern Outer Banks.

Rough surf conditions are expected along with a high threat of rip currents in ocean waters.

Seas through this afternoon are expected around 10-15 feet, highest along northern waters. The long northeast fetch through Friday afternoon will drive high seas towards the northern OBX.  Breakers could build as high as 8 to 10 feet generating high surf and dangerous rip currents.  By the weekend, high pressure builds over the area and seas will begin to subside.

Nights in Rodanthe
The rough seas pose a serious threat to houses located on the oceanfront.  A great example of the potential for property damage from a coastal storm is the very well-known house from Nights in Rodanthe.

The Nights in Rodanthe house sits directly on the beach at the northern tip of Hatteras Island.  It is precariously perched in the pounding surf, and its days seem numbered.  It’s tragic to see property damaged, especially a gorgeous oceanfront home, but nature is a force much greater than our construction materials.

It’s sort of like watching a car accident (albeit in very slow motion), but you can view real time video of the famous house with this webcam; as of now, the webcam is faced directly at the house.  The southern Outer Banks is doing pretty well in comparison to the northern Outer Banks in this system, so this could be good news for the famed house.  Perhaps this is not the storm that takes it down, but odds are nature will claim it at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Relatively good news for southern Outer Banks:  The low (remnants of Ida) has gotten close enough to the southern part of the Outer Banks to allow the pressure gradient (difference in pressure) to relax greatly; so the wind hasn’t been too bad along the southern Outer Banks. However, the northern Outer Banks is experiencing more severe weather.  While Hatteras has been experiencing 25 mph wind gusts, Duck to Corolla has been experiencing 50 mph gusts. The pressure gradient has a huge effect; the greatest pressure gradient  leads to the highest winds, hence the biggest waves, and the biggest problems with flooding, overwash, and coastal property damage.

In addition to the pressure gradient, high tides play a significant role in severity.  This storm system will extend through four high tide periods.

High tides for Oregon Inlet in this period include:

Thursday 11/12 – 3:40am
Thursday 11/12 – 3:53pm
Friday 11/13 – 4:32am
Friday 11/13 – 4:51pm