Hurricane Maria: Storm Surge Flooding Soaks North Carolina Coast

Hurricane Maria’s push northward through the Atlantic has drenched eastern North Carolina and the Outer Banks with storm surge flooding, as tropical storm force winds and conditions were expected to be felt in the region through Wednesday.

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, Maria was about 165 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, packing winds around 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Flooding from the storm surge is expected on the sound side of the Outer Banks, while a storm surge warning continues to be in effect for part of eastern North Carolina. Meanwhile, ocean swells continue to affect Bermuda, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas, NHS said.

On Ocracoke Island, where tourists were evacuated earlier this week, flooding has already begun. “Tide is definitely coming in and I think we’re all prepared for more as Maria stalls by the coast,” said Ocracoke resident Crystal Canterbury. “It sounds like tonight and tomorrow will be the worst of it.”

Neighboring Hatteras Island, which also issued a mandatory evacuation for visitors, is experiencing dangerous rip currents that will persist through the week, which prompted the Dare County Emergency Management to issue a swim warning. “Stay out of the water -- conditions are unsafe for even the most experienced swimmers,” it said in a Tuesday afternoon advisory.

(Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news in Charlotte — or other neighborhoods. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Maria’s trajectory is expected to turn and slow down, ultimately heading back out into the Atlantic in an east-northeast direction by Thursday, forecasters say. “On the forecast track, the center of Maria will pass east of the coast of North Carolina during the next couple of days,” NHS said.

While storm conditions are expected to ramp down in the coming days, Maria continues to be a large hurricane, with winds extending 105 miles from its center, NHS said.

Photos courtesy of Crystal Canterbury/ Ocracoke Current; Images courtesy of National Weather Service

Keep up with more local news by liking Charlotte Patch on Facebook: