Hurricane Sandy Update: VII | Eastern North Carolina Now

For Immediate Release:

   We have just finished our noon conference call with NCEM and the National Weather Service. Hurricane Sandy continues to grow and we become the largest CAT 1 storm in history (1,000 miles in diameter) before she makes landfall, hopefully in the Northeast.

    I am attaching several documents to this update. Please remember the numbers you are seeing on the documents could change depending on what Sandy does or does not do. We continue to be concerned with the extended period of time we will have tropical storm force winds impacting the county (50 continuous hours). The rainfall amounts will create some flooding in the same areas of the county as in past years.

    The Storm Surge numbers for the immediate area are three to five feet above ground. The Storm Surge for the remainder of the county is shown as one to two feet above ground. Wave action is estimated at one to two feet anywhere along the Pamlico River.

    The attached HURREVAC document shows how large the Hurricane has become. The blue line represents the area of Tropical Storm Force Winds of 40 mph or greater. The yellow line represents winds in excess of 50 kts per hour.

    The attached experimental wind and storm surge document were completed at 6:30 am this morning, but are generally representative of what we can expect. Although you should add two to five mph to the gust levels according to the 2:00pm update. If you are in the Belhaven area the wind table numbers for Hyde County mainland better represent what you could be seeing. If you are in the Aurora area the wind table numbers for Pamlico County may better represent what you may actually experience.

    The worst part of the storm should be Sunday into Monday morning if the current forecast track is correct. Isolated wind gust could exceed the numbers given. Therefore, starting at 10:00pm tonight through Monday 10:00am I am requesting that high profile Emergency Response Vehicles not utilize US 17 bypass over the Pamlico River unless absolutely necessary.
Where did Main Street go, and why is the Pamlico River so much wider? Hurricane Irene, August 27, 2011: Above.     photo by Stan Deatherage
    Updates will be forwarded as the storm dictates. We will have another conference call with NCEM and the Weather Service at noon tomorrow at the EOC if anyone is interested in attending. Everyone has my cell if you need to get in touch with me.

    Thank you for your support and assistance to the Citizens of Beaufort County.

    John Pack

      Coordinator
       Beaufort County Emergency Services