Coastal Flood — Hatteras Island, North Carolina

2022-12-23 · Hatteras Island, North Carolina

Event narrative

Winds picked up during the morning hours with the passage of an arctic cold front. Peak wind gusts of 50-60 mph were observed during the late morning to early afternoon hours, though remained high through the remainder of the afternoon. Flooding issues began in the mid to late morning hours, peaking in the early to mid afternoon. Multiple roads were closed due to high water on them, though no structural flooding was reported. Roads began to open by early evening, with all roads cleared of floodways by around 8pm. Some standing water and puddles created icy spots as temperatures fell to well below freezing overnight and through the day Saturday, Christmas Eve.

Wider weather episode

A strong arctic cold front blasted through Eastern NC during the day. Strong westerly winds produced power outages across the region as widespread wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph were recorded, with some localized areas near the coast gusting as high as 60 mph. The winds peaked in the morning for inland locations, and for coastal areas in the afternoon. The strong west winds produced coastal flooding for sound side areas of the Outer Banks during the afternoon hours, with road closures on Hatteras Island, as well as the northern Outer Banks including the Manteo and Colington Island areas.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1061261. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.