Coastal Flood — Hatteras Island, North Carolina

2021-11-06 to 2021-11-08 · Hatteras Island, North Carolina

Event narrative

Coastal flooding, wave run-up, and ocean overwash began affecting Hatteras Island during the evening high tide cycle on Nov. 6th. Highway 12 in the area of the Cape Hatteras Motel in Buxton was covered in water, with the water flowing across the road at high rates of speed. The next morning's high tide cycle forced a closure of Highway 12 between Rodanthe and Marc Basnight Bridge, as dunes were breached here. Ocean overwash continued the next two days on November 7th and 8th with each high tide cycle, and Highway 12 remained closed. Water levels finally receded by the afternoon of November 8th.

Wider weather episode

A coastal storm formed off the Southeastern U.S. coast during the weekend of November 6-8th, and in tandem with 'King' tides, or high astronomical tides, produced water level rises of up to 2 to 4 feet above ground level for areas of Eastern NC, along with ocean overwash and severe erosion on the Outer Banks. In addition to the coastal flooding, high winds were recorded over 60 mph in some locations, and storm force winds over the coastal waters.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 992234. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.