Outer Banks beach closure expanded; NC 12 closed until Monday as 12-feet waves, gale warning hit

Rodney Overton
·2 min read
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RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — As high winds and breaking waves up to 12 feet continue to hit the North Carolina coast, a key highway along the Outer Banks remained closed Sunday and a beach closure was expanded on an island, officials said.

Strong winds and surf on the highway initially closed part of N.C. 12 on Saturday morning, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Bad conditions continued Sunday and N.C. 12 on Ocracoke Island will not reopen until Monday afternoon, officials said. Ferry service between Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands also remains suspended.

Key highway closes at NC Outer Banks amid flood warning, waves up to 15 feet

The National Weather Service said Sunday that a flood warning is in effect until 2 a.m. Tuesday for Hatteras Island, Ocracoke Island and the northern Outer Banks. Up to four feed of flooding is possible, forecasters said.

NC 12 closed on Sunday. NCDOT image
NC 12 closed on Sunday. NCDOT image

A high surf advisory is also in effect until 8 a.m. Wednesday with “large breaking waves” between 8 and 12 feet in the Northern Outer Banks and Hatteras Island. A gale warning with high winds also remains in effect.

Also Sunday, Cape Hatteras National Seashore expanded an area of a closed beach in Buxton as high surf exposed more problems.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore expanded an area of a closed beach in Buxton. Photo from Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cape Hatteras National Seashore expanded an area of a closed beach in Buxton. Photo from Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Officials said “petroleum odors and sheen on the ocean water” were spotted near a former site used by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.

The U.S. Navy operated at the site until 1982. This is a photo from 1984. Photo from Cape Hatteras National Seashore
The U.S. Navy operated at the site until 1982. This is a photo from 1984. Photo from Cape Hatteras National Seashore

About a fifth of a mile of beach at a formerly used defense site has been closed since Sept. 1, 2023.

The expanded closed section of beach is now about three-tenths of a mile long, starting at the southernmost beachfront home in the village of Buxton and ending at the southernmost jetty, according to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore expanded an area of a closed beach in Buxton. Photo from Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cape Hatteras National Seashore expanded an area of a closed beach in Buxton. Photo from Cape Hatteras National Seashore

The U.S. Navy operated at the site until 1982 and later the Coast Guard used the facilities.

The Navy initially ran the site installing special listening cables that extended from the facility’s terminal building to dozens of miles out to sea, making the first underwater detection of a Soviet diesel submarine in 1962.

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