nor’easter to blow through obx tonight

National Weather Service radar at 3 p.m. showing gathering storm.
National Weather Service radar at 3 p.m. showing gathering storm.
National Weather Service radar at 3 p.m. showing gathering storm.
National Weather Service radar at 3 p.m. showing gathering storm.

It looks like the Outer Banks is in for a good old fashioned nor’easter tonight as a low pressure system builds off the coast and then scoots northeast to New England . . . or as they say in the parlance of the National Weather Service, “6 PM this evening through 6 am Sunday . . . the surface low will be off the NC coast . . . this evening deepening quickly as it moves northeast towards southern New England.”

That’s a very objective way of saying the surf will be running at 7’-10’ tonight into tomorrow, winds will be howling from the NE at 35-40 with gusts to 55, and there will be some sound side flooding and ocean overwash, although the forecast calls for “ . . . minor flooding of low areas along the shore.”

The good news is, it’s a very fast moving system—should be out of here by mid morning Sunday at the latest.

That’s great news for the activities that are scheduled for tomorrow. Specifically seafood cook-offs.

Actually, the Outer Banks Restaurant Week‘s Outer Banks Fish Taco Tasteoff at the Sea Ranch in Kill Devil Hills was scheduled for today, but concerns about rising winds and deteriorating conditions led the Outer Banks Restaurant Association to put it off until tomorrow.

The 5th Annual Outer Banks Shrimp Cookoff at Ocean Boulevard in Kitty Hawk was already scheduled for Sunday. It’s a benefit for the Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research.

Both are scheduled from 12-3. That’s a lot of good food to eat in a short time.