Hurricane Erin surge forecast 2-4 feet from Cape Lookout to Duck

Storm surge flooding and tropical storm conditions from Hurricane Erin are forecast for the Outer Banks of North Carolina starting Wednesday evening.

At 5 p.m., Erin was packing maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. The Category 2 hurricane remains on a path to steer clear of the United States mainland, though it is already brushing in large waves and will bring beach erosion and overwash.

The storm was 615 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras and 615 miles southwest of Bermuda, moving at 10 mph. Storm surge warnings were in effect from Cape Lookout to Duck; a tropical storm warning was in effect from Beaufort Inlet to Duck, inclusive of the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds; and a tropical storm watch was in effect from north of Duck to Chincoteague, Va.

Intensity of the storm is forecast to fluctuate. Hurricane force winds, meaning 74 mph or greater, stayed extended 80 miles from its center throughout Tuesday; tropical storm-force winds, meaning 39 mph or greater, grew to 230 miles from the center.

Forecasters said 1-2 inches of rain are expected Wednesday night on the Outer Banks. Swells from the Atlantic Ocean, however, are life-threatening in the surf and rip currents. Storm surge from Cape Lookout to Duck is forecast at 2 to 4 feet.

Mandatory evacuations have been issued for Ocracoke Island in Hyde County and Hatteras Island in Dare County. Each county has declared an emergency.

Multiple published reports put the number of swimmers rescued between 60 and 70 at Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington on Monday. This was due to rip currents.

N.C. 12, the famed 148-mile roadway linking the peninsulas and islands of the Outer Banks, is likely to go underwater and parts could wash away – as often happens with hurricanes.

N.C. 12 begins at U.S. 70 at the community of Sea Level and runs to a point just north of Corolla and south of the Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve. Two ferries, Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island and Cedar Island to Ocracoke Island, are part of the route.

The storm's miss of the state is particularly welcome in light of Hurricane Helene. Recovery from that storm is in its 47th week. Helene killed 107 in the state, 236 across seven states in the South, and caused an estimated $60 billion in damage to North Carolina.