Hurricane Erin still a threat with winds 600 miles wide, as it eases into Atlantic

High tide Thursday evening could bring more damage to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, even as Hurricane Erin spins away into the Atlantic Ocean.

The tide was to come in at 7:10 p.m. Storm surge was 2 to 4 feet for the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, with waves estimated at 18 feet during the morning.

The storm’s center was just 205 miles east of Cape Hatteras at 5 a.m. and by 5 p.m. had traveled to 370 miles east-northeast of the famed lighthouse. In each of the updates from the National Hurricane Center at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., the sustained hurricane-force winds of 74 mph or greater extended 105 miles from its core and sustained tropical storm-force winds of 39 mph or greater were 320 miles from the center.

Put another way, a map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hurricane Center showed tropical storm-force winds stretching from the North Carolina coast nearly to Bermuda. Cape Hatteras is about 650 miles from Bermuda.

Maximum sustained winds remained at 100 mph, keeping Erin at Category 2. Intensity has peaked.

At 5 p.m., the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s DriveNC.gov said all lanes of N.C. 12 are closed on Ocracoke Island between the Northern Ferry Terminal and the National Park Service Pony Pens. And, all lanes of N.C. 12 are closed on Hatteras Island from the Marc Basnight Bridge to Hatteras Village.

Each of the closures was due to ocean overwash and sand on the road. Pavement damage has yet to be determined. N.C. 12 was closed from Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Village.

A Transportation Department leader surveying damage on Thursday said just north of Hatteras Village and the north end of Ocracoke Island were the worst spots. Dare County officials feared a breach of the dunes at Hatteras Village.

The fleet of earth-moving equipment includes 19 workers, 13 front-end loaders, six bulldozers, three motor graders and two excavators, according to published reports.

Other resources are on standby, said first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. That group includes North Carolina National Guard troops, along with boats, high-clearance vehicles, and aircraft; and the North Carolina Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team, colloquially known as NCHART and inclusive of North Carolina Emergency Management, North Carolina National Guard and the State Highway Patrol.

Overwash was reported by the North Carolina Department of Transportation along N.C. 12 at Rodanthe, Ocracoke, Hatteras, the north end of Buxton, and Pea Island.

Forecasters say dangerous rip currents and coastal flooding is likely through the weekend. All four ferry routes serving Ocracoke Island remained closed on Thursday.

The 5 p.m. update from the Hurricane Center included a storm surge warning remaining in effect from Cape Lookout to Duck, and a tropical storm warning from Duck to Chincoteague, Va.

The Hurricane Center also said, “Wind gusts to tropical storm force are likely along portions of the remainder of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and southern New England coasts today through Friday. Gusts to gale force are possible along the coast of Nova Scotia on Friday and the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland on Saturday.”

The storm's landfall miss of North Carolina is particularly welcome in light of Hurricane Helene. Recovery from that storm begins its 48th week this weekend. Helene killed 107 in the state, 236 across seven states in the South, and caused an estimated $60 billion in damage to North Carolina.