It’s official; Tropical Storm Arthur has become a hurricane and is taking aim at North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a string of islands off the state’s main coast and a vacation hot spot for the Fourth of July.
Dare County, N.C. officials have issued a mandatory evacuation of Hatteras Island beginning at 5 a.m. Thursday morning. After that time, no one will be allowed to access the island. A voluntary evacuation was also announced earlier for the Outer Banks’ Ocracoke Island, which can only be accessed by ferry.
Hurricane Arthur has a maximum of 75 mph sustained winds and is expected to reach the Outer Banks by Thursday night. For July 4th vacationers, this could mean a change of plans. Officials have also urged visitors to evacuate during daylight before the storm brings high winds, rough seas, dangerous rip currents, and possible flooding on the main highway to the Outer Banks.
The worst of the storm is expected to hit Cape Hatteras at dawn on Friday with 3-5 inches of rain and winds at up to 85 mph. Although many are being urged to evacuate, some prefer to “stick it out.”
“I’ve been through Irene. I went through Isabelle,” said Bill Motley, who works at Ace Hardware in Nags Head has lived on the Outer Banks for 13 years. “I’m not even worried about this one. I’m more worried about my tomato plants. With the wind coming, if we get a 50-mph gust, it will knock over my tomato plants.”
While forecasters say it’s too early to tell exactly where the storm will be for the holiday weekend, firework plans could be put on hold from Cape Cod all the way to the mid-Atlantic coast.
SOURCE: USA Today | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
