Waves as tall as houses crest off Outer Banks due to Hurricane Teddy. Here’s the data
Monstrous waves can be added to the impact distant Hurricane Teddy is bringing to North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
The storm, 435 miles south off Nova Scotia, generated a 17-foot, 7-inch wave at 1:50 a.m. Monday, according to NOAA. That’s taller than the average one-story house, attic included.
The National Data Buoy Center reports the wave was recorded by the Diamond Shoals Buoy, 17 miles southeast of the Cape Point area of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
It was one in a series of large waves that began Sunday and continued Tuesday, with a 16-foot, 4-inch wave reported at 3:50 a.m. Tuesday.
Hurricane Teddy’s winds of 100 mph are extending up to 105 miles from the center of the storm, and tropical-storm-force winds (39 to 73 mph) extend outward up to 345 miles, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, waves off the Outer Banks continued to exceed 15 feet, with several topping 16 feet, NOAA reported.
“These conditions will likely bring life threatening conditions on and just off Seashore beaches,” the park posted on Facebook. “All beach visitors should use extreme caution along beach areas.”
Tourists were warned repeatedly over the weekend “to stay out of the Atlantic Ocean” and NC 12 was closed Monday, due to flooding.
North Carolina’s Outer Banks have long been known for hosting sizable waves — but rarely this big. The area is considered the best spot on the East Coast for surfing, with “some areas notoriously known for always having a series of exceptional, large waves,” reports Outerbanks.com.
Photos shared by Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Facebook show flooded roads, eroded beaches and the popular Ocean Pursuit shipwreck “being battered by waves” on Bodie Island.
Hurricane Teddy is expected to turn north off Bermuda and move up the East Coast, likely making landfall at Nova Scotia later this week, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The ongoing impact on N.C.’s Outer Banks has been compounded by “King Tides,” a term for exceptionally high tides created when the moon’s orbit is at its nearest to the earth, according to NOAA.
Sporadic flooding on the Outer Banks prompted the state to close sections of N.C. 12 multiple times over the weekend.
The highway was closed early Monday between the Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, the N.C. Department of Transportation posted.
“Last night’s high tide was the most severe of the event so far, with water and deep sand on several portions of roadway,” NCDOT said in a Monday Facebook post.
“Our crews are currently starting clearing operations, but the next two high tide cycles are forecast to produce similar results. At this point, we expect these portions of NC12 to remain closed until Tuesday (Sept. 22) afternoon.”
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 8:31 AM with the headline "Waves as tall as houses crest off Outer Banks due to Hurricane Teddy. Here’s the data."