A nor’easter is bringing strong winds, high surf and coastal flooding to the Outer Banks and southeast Virginia this weekend, while freeze warnings cover 11 states from Indiana to Connecticut tonight.
The National Weather Service has coastal flood warnings, wind advisories and high surf advisories in place from North Carolina to Maryland, with the worst of the flooding expected around the Sunday and Monday high tides. Farther inland, overnight lows could drop as low as 26 degrees.
Outer Banks: Up to 4 Feet of Flooding
The NWS office in Newport/Morehead City issued a coastal flood warning for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, where 2 to 4 feet of inundation above ground level is expected in low-lying areas. The Northern Outer Banks are under a coastal flood advisory for 1 to 3 feet. Areas along the Pamlico Sound and the lower Neuse River could see 1 to 3 feet as well.
North winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph, are expected on Hatteras Island, Ocracoke Island and the Northern Outer Banks from noon Saturday through 8 p.m. Monday. The NWS said it “will be a long duration wind event, likely extending beyond 8 PM Monday.” The office had a high wind watch out for the same area earlier and replaced it with a wind advisory.
Breaking waves of 8 to 15 feet are forecast in the surf zone.
N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island could close as soon as Saturday afternoon and stay closed for several days, the Island Free Press reported, citing the state transportation department. A late-September nor’easter closed the highway near the Pea Island Visitor Center for five days.
Virginia and Maryland
Farther north, the NWS office in Wakefield, Virginia, issued a wind advisory for Virginia Beach and Currituck County, North Carolina, with gusts up to 45 mph through 10 a.m. Sunday.
A coastal flood watch covers Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Newport News, Virginia’s Eastern Shore and the Maryland beaches from Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning, with 1 to 2 feet of inundation possible. The NWS warned that “numerous roads may be closed.” Breaking waves of 8 to 15 feet are expected from the Maryland beaches down to Currituck.
Freeze Warnings in 11 States
Inland, the NWS has freeze warnings overnight into Sunday morning, most of them running until 9 a.m., in parts of Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
The coldest readings are forecast around Binghamton, New York, where the local NWS office said temperatures could fall to 26 degrees. Lows of 28 to 30 are expected in parts of West Virginia, southwest Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. The NWS said the cold could kill crops and other sensitive plants and damage outdoor plumbing that isn’t protected.
Freeze warnings were also in effect Saturday morning in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas.
The National Hurricane Center said Saturday morning that no tropical cyclone is expected to form in the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf over the next seven days.
The Newport/Morehead City office is posting storm briefings at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily, according to the Island Free Press. Current alerts for every state are at weather.gov.
