Curfews are in effect in all areas of Dare County, except for the Town of Kitty Hawk, starting at 8 p.m. today and continuing through noon tomorrow, according to the most recent bulletin from Dare County Emergency Management. There also will be no access into Dare County starting at 8 p.m.
As of 6 p.m., the eye of Hurricane Dorian was located 45 miles south of Myrtle Beach, S.C., The Weather Channel (TWC) reported.
The category 2 hurricane, which has had winds ranging from 105 mph to 115 mph today, according to TWC’s Mike Bettes, is moving 8 mph north-northeast. In describing Dorian’s projected track, Mr. Bettes said the hurricane will “skirt” the South Carolina and North Carolina coastlines until it reaches Cape Hatteras, where it will “pull away” and move out to sea.
The Weather Channel is forecasting a storm surge of 4 to 7 feet and rain amounting to 4 to 6 inches for the northern Outer Banks.
Rain has just become heavy in Southern Shores–at 6:35 p.m.–after periods of light rain alternated with bursts of sunshine throughout the afternoon, starting around 2 p.m.
(By 7 p.m., the rain had slacked off.)
I drove down the 158 Bypass around 5:30-6 p.m. and found only one restaurant open in Kitty Hawk: Shipwrecks, which is just south of Wings and across the street from the Mobil station, where the pumps were still operating. Barefoot Bernie’s, long a holdout during storms, was closed.
Quite a few Dominion Power and Spectrum trucks were parked at the Hilton Garden Inn, which was open for business.
The wind was blustery, but not strong, on the beach at the nearby Kitty Hawk Pier. The ocean, which was at low tide, had moderate-size waves–nothing that remarkable (yet).
TWC’s Mr. Bettes said we will be through with Dorian, and it with us, by midday tomorrow.
I am going to take my sighting of the piebald fawn, which I saw with his/her mother and more skittish sibling on my return to the Southern Shores woods, as a harbinger of good tidings. Have a peaceful night, everyone.
UPDATE FROM DARE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AT 7 P.M.:
The bottom line: Time to hunker down.
Ann, 9/5/19
The Southern Shores Beacon 