We hope that you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration!
The Thanksgiving holiday on Hatteras Island was interesting to say the least. As you probably heard on the news or read about in the paper, we had one of our famous nor’easters come in starting on Tuesday morning. After blowing all day, the storm really cranked up after dark on Tuesday. According to the Virginian-Pilot, our local newspaper, a wind gust of 115 mph was reported at the Dare County airport in Manteo. The National Weather Service recorded a high wind gust of 82 mph at the Alligator River bridge west of Manteo. Winds over 60 mph and lots of rain affected the island. Standing water could be seen on many spots along Highway 12 and on some of the side streets.
The strongest part of the storm seemed to occur between midnight and 5 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Electric power to the entire Outer Banks was out for a few hours, and here on Hatteras Island, it was out for about 17 hours. The greatest dislocation, however, was the closing of Highway 12 due to ocean overwash north of Rodanthe. Some ocean overwash also occurred just north of the motels in Buxton and outside Hatteras Village. It is our understanding that the road was closed early Wednesday morning, and it did not reopen until about 3:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. As we like to say, “Just another day in paradise!”
All things considered, there appeared to be relatively little property damage on most of the island. The exception was in areas north and south of the Rodanthe pier where ocean overwash damaged some oceanfront homes and covered streets with sand. These areas have experienced ocean overwash in the past.
The strong storms that we occasionally experience are a fascinating part of the island’s history. In some ways, it is quite extraordinary to experience the island the way it used to be for a few hours when everything is totally quiet except for the sounds of the ocean and the wind, and the only lights are candles flickering through cottage windows. At special times like these, we come to realize how cluttered our lives have become with the constant noise from television sets and automobiles, and we come to appreciate the truly unique opportunities that Hatteras Island offers us to enjoy peace and quiet, a very simple lifestyle, and the time to do what we want. We really do have a lot to be thankful for, don’t we?
While we are talking about giving thanks, let’s not forget our service men and women whose sacrifices allow us to enjoy the freedoms that we have. We recently became aware of a project sponsored by Xerox that is designed to let our men and women in uniform know how much their efforts are appreciated. If you will go to http://www.letssaythanks.com , you will find cards and messages that you can send by e-mail to our men and women in the military. It is hard being away from home anytime, but especially during the holidays. We encourage you to visit this web site and to send a message of support to our troops, many of whom are our relatives and neighbors.
