We were in the OBX in late April and the road just north of Rodanthe flooded and was closed just before we arrived and also for a time while we were there after a heavy thunderstorm.
They’re always moving sand away from the road in that area to keep the road open when heavy rain comes. Must be very expensive, but tourism is the lifeblood there and if Hwy. 12 is closed, the money dries up.
Just think of the millions of $$$ lost this coming weekend with everything shuttered. The timing couldn’t be worse.
What was the storm that cut a new inlet a few years ago, Irene? I had a long weekend booked with friends for Halloween weekend on Ocracoke Island that year, missed the last direct ferry from the mainland at Swan Quarter and had to drive down from Manteo to catch the ferry at Hatteras. The storm had just passed and it was a pretty wild ride, I actually went into the ferry’s passenger lounge instead of staying in my car, lol. To get there we drove on sand in many areas, wind whipped, snaking across in the headlights. There was a temporary steel plate bridge just north of Rodanthe over that new inlet. It took quite a toll on campers and such, there were destroyed ones lining Highway 12 off and on all the way down. Ocracoke was unscathed. Had a nice time, a little more chilly than we had planned but the house had a fireplace with gas logs and a fire pit outside, so we adjusted.
From November 2012