Bulletin #2
October 7, 2016 6:50 p.m.

The most recent forecast from the National Weather Service remains fairly consistent with the previous track, with a slight shift bringing the storm closer to our coast.   Dare County remains under a Tropical Storm Warning. The Storm Surge Watch has been extended further north along the oceanside and across portions of the southern Albemarle Sound. The combination of flooding from the ocean, sound and from heavy rains that is currently forecasted should be taken seriously.

The National Weather Service is highly discouraging travel across northeastern North Carolina this weekend.   As conditions deteriorate, road closures and travel restrictions are anticipated in Dare County, particularly for portions of Highway 12 on Hatteras Island.

Because of dangerous travel conditions, visitors scheduled to arrive this weekend are encouraged to postpone travel until conditions improve. For information regarding road conditions and closures, visit tims.ncdot.gov/tims. For the most up to date information regarding the status of NC12, visit www.facebook.com/NCDOTNC12.

The tropical storm force wind speeds forecasted for our area have increased slightly with the latest forecast and are expected to reach their peak Sunday morning. This leads to the potential for downed trees and power outages.

By 5:00 pm today, all visitor services and facilities at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Memorial will be closed until further notice.

The Dare County Libraries will be closed on Saturday.

Dare County Emergency Management strongly urges all residents and visitors to heed the following warnings —

• If you are in a low lying area, or an area prone to flooding, relocate to higher ground. This is especially important for those with special medical needs.
• Residents in low lying areas should take action to protect personal property by moving to higher ground.   This includes vehicles.
• Complete your disaster preparedness kits and other safety preparations now.
• Stay out of the ocean due to the high threat of rip current.
• Monitor trusted sources of information for life saving alerts. NOAA Weather Radio is an excellent resource for emergency alerts.

To receive email updates directly from Dare County Emergency Management, register online at www.darecountyem.comand follow @DareCountyEM on Twitter.

To stay up to date with the latest weather and traffic conditions in Dare County, download the free Ready NC App atwww.readync.org.  

View the latest watches, warnings and advisories from the National Weather Service at www.weather.gov/mhx.  

Residents and visitors can contact Dare County Emergency Management by calling 252.475.5655 or visitingwww.darenc.com for updated information.

The next update will be issued on Saturday morning.

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