Skies are clear but Hurricane Teddy brought overwash to Outer Banks' Highway 12

By Bryan Mims, WRAL reporter

Hatteras, N.C. — Outer Banks residents, business owners and visitors were limited in their travel once again Monday after Mother Nature swept sand and water over N.C. Highway 12.

Waves whipped up by Hurricane Teddy brought serious flooding to the Outer Banks over the weekend, and closing N.C. 12 in two places.

The Outer Banks’ main north-south thoroughfare was closed at the between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe on Hatteras Island and between the National Park Service Pony Pens and the ferry terminal on Ocracoke Island while crews worked to clear the road and to rebuild the protective dunes.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation called it “a triple whammy” of seasonal high tides, strong northeast winds, and long-form waves created by Hurricane Teddy that sent the surf surging across the road.

Crews are hoping to reopen the highway in both locations sometime Tuesday afternoon.

Photographer Donny Bowers spent the day driving around to capture the conditions. He said the surf was a rough as any to hit the islands and that many vehicles were stranded, flooded and totaled.

At the Hatteras Motel, manager Jan Dawson said most guests cleared out late last week when Teddy in the forecast.

On Monday, only three rooms were occupied, but Dawson was expecting a full house again by Friday. The few clouds in the forecast won’t dim the Outer Banks outlook, and temperatures in the upper 70s are sure to be a draw.