Hurricane Moves North; Lake Area Spared
September 3, 2010

Hurricane Earl posed no problem for the Lake Gaston area and left little or no major damage as it brushed past the Outer Banks overnight.

"The news is that we’ve dodged a major bullet in North Carolina," Gov. Bev Perdue said early Friday. "The news all over the coast is great."

Earl weakened throughout the day Thursday, dropping from a Category 4 storm with winds of 140 mph to a Category 2 storm with winds of 105 mph. Nevertheless, Earl sent rain sideways and shake signs in Buxton, the southeasternmost tip of the Outer Banks. And the National Hurricane Center expected Earl to remain a large hurricane as it approached southeastern New England.

N.C. Highway 12 is closed in both directions south of the Bonner Bridge on Hatteras Island. The bridge crosses Oregon Inlet. The road is often closed by rising tides and blowing sand. It was expected to reopen by mid-afternoon. Wind gusts of 50 mph and more were reported all along the Outer Banks.

Transportation officials say many secondary roads on the barrier islands are also closed because of flooding.

All state-run ferry service has been suspended.

Hatteras Village, located on the southern end of Hatteras Island within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, received about 2 feet of water from the Pamlico Sound, officials said.

There are scattered power outages up and down the outer banks with Dominion Power reporting about 1500 without power in Dare County and another 500 in Currituck.

Around Lake Gaston, there was a brief rain shower from one of the outer bands of the storm Thursday afternoon. But winds never got strong enough to cause concern. Forecasters say there will be more showers today (Friday) and temperatures near 100 degrees. But by tomorrow, the passing of a cold front should drop temperatures into the mid-80's, just in time for the Littleton-Lake Gaston Festival and other Labor Day events.