Weather
Hurricane Maria: Tropical Storm Warning Issued For North Carolina Coast
A tropical storm warning is issued for the North Carolina coast and Ocracoke begins evacuating tourists as Hurricane Maria barrels north.
North Carolina’s coast was put under a tropical storm warning Monday morning as Hurricane Maria barreled north through the Atlantic. As of 8 a.m. Sept. 25, the center of the storm packing winds of about 75 mph was about 335 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras and moving north at about 7 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“Because Maria is a large hurricane, the associated tropical-storm-force winds could reach a portion of the North Carolina coastline in about 48 hours,” NHC said in its 8 p.m. forecast Sunday evening.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from Cape Lookout to Duck, N.C., as well as the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. That means tropical storm conditions are expected within 36 hours, according to the National Weather Service. A tropical storm watch, where tropical storm conditions are possible in the next 48 hours, is in effect for north of Duck northward to the North Carolina/Virginia border, and north of Surf City to south of Cape Lookout.
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A storm surge watch, which could see water surge 2 to 4 feet if the peak surge occurs at high tide, is also in effect from Cape Lookout to Duckaccording to the National Weather Service.
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Sunday night, a mandatory evacuation order was issued effective Sept. 25 at 5 a.m. for all tourists on Ocracoke Island by The County of Hyde, N.C., which also declared a state of emergency for the entire county.
Sunday evening Maria’s winds were clocked around 105 mph but had decreased to around 75 mph by Monday morning. Forecasters say they will continue to fluctuate but will gradually weaken by Tuesday.
“Maria is a large hurricane. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles,” NWS said.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Images courtesy of National Weather Service
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