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Alert Pulse · North Carolina · Weekly report · Sep 21 – 27, 2026

Ocean overwash cuts Hatteras road access as storms hit North Carolina

Damaged pavement left Hatteras Island dependent on emergency ferries. Inland, storms brought down trees and a power line, while floodwaters later receded in part of Bertie County.

SEP 21, 5 PM EDT · 18 IN THE HOURSEP 21SEP 27DISTINCT WARNINGS PER HOUR231

Each story below, on the day it peaked

  • Severe storms · Sep 21

    North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina

    Gusts to 60 mph

    Named in the warnings: Gibsonville, Walnut Cove, Sydnorsville

  • Coastal storm · Sep 22–27

    North Carolina

    Currituck County spent 6 days under warning

  • Flash flooding · Sep 21–22

    North Carolina and Virginia

The warnings identified coastal flooding, severe storms and flash flooding, but could not keep island roads passable or prevent trees from falling onto homes and roads.

Read the week

Where the week happened

Each numbered area is one of the stories below, drawn over the counties its warnings covered.

Map of the area this edition covers. 1: Coastal storm in North Carolina, Sep 22–27. 2: Severe storms in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, Sep 21. 3: Flash flooding in North Carolina and Virginia, Sep 21–22.123
  • Coastal storm in North Carolina, Sep 22–27
  • Severe storms in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, Sep 21
  • Flash flooding in North Carolina and Virginia, Sep 21–22
Fig. 1. The counties each story covered, numbered as the report tells them. Colour groups the hazard: water, heat and fire, storms. Counties are the smallest area these warnings describe.
The same areas as a list
  • 1. Coastal storm in North Carolina, September 22 to 27 · Water · 8 counties drawn
  • 2. Severe storms in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, September 21 · Storms · 35 counties drawn
  • 3. Flash flooding in North Carolina and Virginia, September 21 to 22 · Water · 8 counties drawn
Figure 02

When it happened

Each square is one day of the week, shaded by how many warnings went out.Shade is warnings that day. A number is the story it belongs to on the map. A ring marks a day on which news or officials reported what the event did to people.
SunMonTueWedThuFriSatSep 21: 72 warnings · story 2, 3 on the map · documented impact on people212·3Sep 22: 46 warnings · story 1, 3 on the map · documented impact on people221·3Sep 23: 49 warnings · story 1 on the map · documented impact on people231Sep 24: 20 warnings · story 1 on the map · documented impact on people241Sep 25: 22 warnings · story 1 on the map · documented impact on people251Sep 26: 15 warnings · story 1 on the map · documented impact on people261Sep 27: 21 warnings · story 1 on the map · documented impact on people271
  • Fewer warnings
  • More warnings
  • Impact on people reported
View as a table
DayWarningsStory on the mapDocumented impact on people
Sep 21722, 3Yes
Sep 22461, 3Yes
Sep 23491Yes
Sep 24201Yes
Sep 25221Yes
Sep 26151Yes
Sep 27211Yes

1Ocean overwash cuts Hatteras Island's road access

Ocean waves wash over a coastal road with deep cracks, collapsed edges and large slabs of broken asphalt.
Appeared on Currently, by AT&T

  1. SEP 22, 2 PM EDT

    First warning

    Currituck County, North Carolina

  2. SEP 27, 12 PM EDT

    Last warning

    Currituck County, North Carolina

Map of the area this edition covers. 1: Coastal storm in North Carolina, Sep 22–27.1
  • Coastal storm — coloured as water. 8 counties in North Carolina, Sep 22–27.

In Rodanthe on September 27, vehicles lined up for emergency ferries after ocean overwash severed Hatteras Island's road access, part of the coastal flooding marked 1 on the map. Photographer Jenni Koontz, who recorded the queue, told Storyful: “People started arriving yesterday evening to wait in line to get off of Hatteras Island”.

The coastal flood warnings had begun in Currituck County on Tuesday afternoon. The weather service in Newport/Morehead City described the surf forecast that day: “For the High Surf Advisory, large breaking waves peaking at 10 to 15 feet expected in the surf zone.” By Wednesday, Dare County Transportation had announced that services south of the Marc Basnight Bridge would stop until road conditions improved, according to Dare County Emergency Management.

Archived alert · Sep 21 – 27, 2026Sent September 22, 2026 · NWS Newport/Morehead City NC
For the first Beach Hazards Statement, dangerous rip currents. For the High Surf Advisory, large breaking waves peaking at 10 to 15 feet expected in the surf zone. For the second Beach Hazards Statement, dangerous rip currents and large…

On September 24, ocean overwash closed the road between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe. WNCT, published by Yahoo, reported that the state transportation department's initial assessment found approximately 500 feet of undermined or broken pavement near the Pea Island Visitor Center. Dare County Schools also moved district schools to remote learning that day and canceled afterschool activities.

On northern Ocracoke late Thursday, ocean water breached sandbags, closing the road between the Pony Pens and the ferry terminal and canceling Hatteras Inlet ferry service, the Ocracoke Observer reported. By Friday morning's high tide, significant flooding reached village streets, including Irvin Garrish Highway. The Observer also reported cancellations on the Swan Quarter and Cedar Island ferry routes, with service on those routes resuming Saturday morning.

On Hatteras Island on Saturday evening, Dare County declared a state of emergency because road access had been lost. County Emergency Management barred visitors and nonresident property owners from entering, while authorizing Ocracoke residents to pass through when ferry service resumed. Round-the-clock emergency ferries began connecting Rodanthe with Stumpy Point on Sunday morning, according to Storyful; the last coastal flood warning ended at noon in Currituck County. No deaths or injuries were reported in the official updates and news coverage reviewed.

Flood alerts by the numbers: every published month, by state and county.

2A tree falls through a house near Mount Airy

  1. SEP 21, 3 PM EDT

    First warning

    Avery County, North Carolina

  2. SEP 21, 10 PM EDT

    Last warning

    Cleveland County, North Carolina

Map of the area this edition covers. 1: Severe storms in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, Sep 21.1
  • Severe storms — coloured as storms. 35 counties in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, Sep 21.

On Knollwood Drive near Mount Airy on September 21, a tree fell through a house, according to a National Weather Service storm report reproduced by RoofTalk. That damage in Surry County puts a specific address within the broader storm area marked 2 on the map.

The afternoon's warnings began earlier in Avery County, at 3:14 p.m. Farther east, weather service reports reproduced by RoofTalk documented a tree down on Highway 89 near the Surry–Stokes county line. Another report placed a fallen power line on the roadway near Eldora Road and Chilton Road, south of Ararat.

At 4:56 p.m. Monday, an emergency call center reported a tree down around Walnut Cove, according to a weather service report reproduced by Hail Drive. At 5:15 p.m., the weather service warned Old Fort residents of torrential rainfall and directed them to shelter in an interior room and avoid driving through flooded roads, according to the bulletin reproduced by AreaZine.

By 6:16 p.m., a warning naming Prospect Hill and Camp Springs told people to prepare for damaging winds and large hail and shelter away from windows, according to the weather service bulletin reproduced by AreaZine. The final severe thunderstorm warning in this group ended in Cleveland County at 10 p.m. Monday.

The reports from Surry and Stokes document damage to a house and hazards on roads, not measured wind speeds at those locations. No deaths or injuries were reported in the weather service reports and news coverage reviewed.

3Floodwaters recede in part of Bertie County

  1. SEP 21, 6 PM EDT

    First warning

    Bertie County, North Carolina

  2. SEP 21, 11 PM EDT

    Last warning

    Edgecombe County, North Carolina

Map of the area this edition covers. 1: Flash flooding in North Carolina and Virginia, Sep 21–22.1
  • Flash flooding — coloured as water. 8 counties in North Carolina and Virginia, Sep 21–22.

In Windsor and Quitsna at 6:47 p.m. Monday, a flash flood warning described flooding as ongoing or expected to begin shortly. The National Weather Service bulletin, reproduced by Winter Weather Warnings, named those communities within the Bertie County portion of the flood area marked 3 on the map. It did not document specific damage or rescues.

At 7:10 p.m., the weather service issued a warning covering north-central Northampton County, according to the bulletin reproduced by Defcon Level. It used the same distinction: flooding was ongoing or expected to begin shortly, rather than a confirmed account of property losses or people needing rescue.

By 9:17 p.m. Monday in part of Bertie County, the weather service reported a concrete improvement: heavy rain had ended and floodwaters had receded. It canceled a flood advisory there but told people to heed remaining road closures, without identifying particular roads. That finding applied to the advisory area, not every place still under a flood warning.

The last flash flood warning in this group ended in Edgecombe County at 11:15 p.m. Monday. No specific losses or rescues were documented in the coverage reviewed, and no deaths or injuries were reported. The clearest documented outcome was the weather service's confirmation that water had receded in part of Bertie County.

Flood alerts by the numbers: every published month, by state and county.

How BePrepared monitors this, all year

This report exists because we already monitor the whole country. Every couple of minutes, around the clock, we read the emergency alerts going out across all fifty states and territories, and we keep them. A month of that record is what you have just read.

The national picture is the part most people never see. What matters to you is much smaller: which of these warnings would have reached your street, and what the risks around you look like on an ordinary day.

That is what BePrepared is for. Put in your ZIP code and you get the picture for where you live — the flood, fire and storm history around you, the dams and facilities nearby, and a plan for your household rather than a general one. With a free account you can keep a watchlist of the places you care about, like your home, your parents' address, and your kids' school, and set what you want to hear about.

Where it hit hardest

Counted as distinct warnings, and as the days a county spent under one. A county is the smallest area these warnings describe.

Warnings by region

  • Southeast25
  • Mid-Atlantic6

Most days under a warning

  • Currituck County, NC6 days
  • Dare County, NC6 days
  • Hyde County, NC6 days
  • McDowell County, NC2 days
  • Henderson County, NC2 days
  • Person County, NC2 days
  • Northampton County, NC2 days
  • Greensville County, VA2 days
Figure 03Embed this chart

Where the warnings landed

Every county in North Carolina that received a warning this week, coloured and scaled by how many; the faint dots are counties this edition does not cover.115 counties in North Carolina received at least one warning; the faint dots are every other county in the country, which this edition does not cover. Each county wears its MOST frequent kind of warning and its dot scales with how many it received; the month's three biggest kinds carry color and every other kind wears gray, with the panels below giving each kind its own map. The full per-county mix is in the CSV. Too few counties to panel: safety & civil (11).
Pender, NC: 15 warnings · mostly everything elseMcDowell, NC: 18 warnings · mostly floodingDare, NC: 21 warnings · mostly everything elseNew Hanover, NC: 27 warnings · mostly floodingCurrituck, NC: 41 warnings · mostly everything elseCurrituck, NC · 41New Hanover, NC · 27Dare, NC · 21
  • Flooding
  • Severe storms
  • Safety & civil
  • Everything else

Flooding200 warnings · 52 counties

Severe storms100 warnings · 37 counties

View as a table
CountyStateWarningsMost frequent kind
CurrituckNC41Everything else
New HanoverNC27Flooding
DareNC21Everything else
McDowellNC18Flooding
PenderNC15Everything else
BuncombeNC13Flooding
HendersonNC13Flooding
HydeNC13Everything else
RutherfordNC13Flooding
AsheNC12Flooding
ClevelandNC12Everything else
CarteretNC10Everything else
SurryNC9Flooding
PersonNC9Severe storms
SwainNC8Flooding
HaywoodNC8Everything else
WataugaNC8Flooding
JacksonNC8Everything else
BurkeNC7Flooding
NorthamptonNC7Everything else

The human record

What it cost, and who reported it

These figures are not ours. Our archive records that a warning was issued, never what happened next, so every number here comes from the organization named beside it and was retrieved on October 1, 2026.

  • In their words

    Ocracoke resident Kelley Shinn told the Albemarle Observer that flooding on her property carried away kayaks and a woodpile and reached a couple of feet deep in the worst spots.

    “This is a large inconvenience for us, not without a lot of potential for dangerous situations”
    Kelley Shinn, Ocracoke resident, to Albemarle Observer

    Source: Albemarle Observer

  • In their words

    more than500vehicles waiting

    Photographer Jenni Koontz told Storyful that more than 500 vehicles were lined up along N.C. 12 in Rodanthe on September 27 as people waited to leave Hatteras Island by emergency ferry.

    “People started arriving yesterday evening to wait in line to get off of Hatteras Island”
    Jenni Koontz, Photographer with Epic Shutter Photography who recorded the ferry queue, to Storyful

    Source: Storyful

  • Damage

    approximately500feet of pavement damaged

    NCDOT's initial assessment on September 24 reported approximately 500 feet of undermined or broken pavement on N.C. 12 near the Pea Island Visitor Center.

    Source: WNCT, published by Yahoo

  • Damage

    On September 25, Ocracoke village experienced significant flooding during the morning high tide, including flooding along Irvin Garrish Highway.

    Source: Ocracoke Observer

  • Damage

    Dare County reported on September 26 that soundside flooding affected the Tri-Villages, Frisco and Hatteras Village, while travel between island villages remained open and power, water and communications remained operational.

    Source: The Outer Banks Voice, publishing a Dare County update

    ArchiveOur records show coastal storm warnings covering this area on September 26.

  • Damage

    1house struck by a tree

    A National Weather Service storm report reproduced by RoofTalk states that a tree fell through a house on Knollwood Drive, two miles north of Mount Airy in Surry County, on September 21, 2026.

    Source: National Weather Service, reproduced by RoofTalk

    ArchiveOur records show severe storms warnings covering this area on September 21.

  • Damage

    A National Weather Service storm report reproduced by RoofTalk documented a tree down on Highway 89 near the Surry–Stokes county line during the September 21 storms.

    Source: National Weather Service, reproduced by RoofTalk

    ArchiveOur records show severe storms warnings covering this area on September 21.

  • Damage

    A National Weather Service storm report reproduced by RoofTalk documented a power line down on the roadway near Eldora Road and Chilton Road, south of Ararat in Surry County, on September 21.

    Source: National Weather Service, reproduced by RoofTalk

    ArchiveOur records show severe storms warnings covering this area on September 21.

  • Damage

    A National Weather Service report reproduced by Hail Drive recorded a 911 call center's report of a tree down in the Walnut Cove area of Stokes County at 4:56 p.m. EDT on September 21.

    Source: National Weather Service, reproduced by Hail Drive

    ArchiveOur records show severe storms warnings covering this area on September 21.

  • Response

    At 5:15 p.m. EDT on September 21, the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for west-central McDowell County, including Old Fort, reporting torrential rainfall and instructing residents to shelter in an interior room and avoid driving through flooded roads.

    Source: National Weather Service, reproduced by AreaZine

    ArchiveOur records show severe storms warnings covering this area on September 21.

  • Response

    On September 21, 2026, at 6:47 p.m. EDT, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Bertie County, naming Windsor and Quitsna, effective until 9:45 p.m.; the bulletin described flash flooding as ongoing or expected to begin shortly rather than documenting specific damage or rescues.

    Source: National Weather Service, reproduced by Winter Weather Warnings

    ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on September 21.

  • Response

    On September 21, 2026, at 7:10 p.m. EDT, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning covering north-central Northampton County until 10:15 p.m., describing flooding as ongoing or expected to begin shortly without reporting specific casualties, rescues or property losses.

    Source: National Weather Service, reproduced by Defcon Level

    ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on September 21.

  • Response

    At 9:17 p.m. EDT on September 21, 2026, the National Weather Service cancelled a flood advisory covering part of Bertie County, stating that heavy rain had ended and floodwaters had receded, while advising people to heed remaining road closures without identifying particular roads.

    Source: National Weather Service

    ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on September 21.

For 3 of these stories, research looked for reported deaths and injuries and found none. As far as the record shows, no one was hurt.

The numbers behind this report

Every warning counted once, by type, place, day and hour, with the method below and the whole table downloadable at the end of the page.

Distinct warnings
245
carried by 563 messages (2.3× echo)
Counties reached
115
across 3 states and territories
Overnight
64
10pm–6am local · 0 of the most severe
Effective on arrival
100%
take effect the moment they are sent

What was warned about

Alert typeWarningsMessages
Flood Advisory5050
Special Weather Statement4040
Severe Thunderstorm Warning3737
Beach Hazards Statement26133
Coastal Flood Advisory24114
Coastal Flood Warning1756
Wind Advisory1212
Flash Flood Warning1010

Where

StateWarnings
NC237
MD7
GA1

The busiest hour of the period was 5pm local time, with 24 warnings — tied with 1 other hour.

Counties reached most often

CountyStateWarnings
CurrituckNC41
New HanoverNC27
DareNC21
McDowellNC18
PenderNC15
BuncombeNC13
HendersonNC13
HydeNC13
RutherfordNC13
AsheNC12

A county with no alerts is not a county with no risk. It can mean a quiet period, or a hazard that this feed does not carry.

Figure 04Embed this chart

When the warnings arrived

Distinct warnings by the local hour they were sent, across the whole period.Local time in the place each alert was sent to. 64 arrived between 10pm and 6am, 0 of them at the highest severity.
0102012am: 12 warnings1am: 11 warnings2am: 10 warnings3am: 5 warnings4am: 5 warnings5am: 4 warnings6am: 9 warnings7am: 4 warnings8am: 4 warnings9am: 2 warnings10am: 9 warnings11am: 2 warnings12pm: 2 warnings1pm: 11 warnings2pm: 12 warnings3pm: 14 warnings4pm: 15 warnings5pm: 24 warnings6pm: 24 warnings7pm: 22 warnings8pm: 16 warnings9pm: 11 warnings10pm: 8 warnings11pm: 9 warnings2412am3am6am9am12pm3pm6pm9pmShaded hours are overnight, 10pm to 6am local
View as a table
Local hourWarningsOf which most severe
12am120
1am110
2am100
3am50
4am50
5am40
6am90
7am41
8am40
9am20
10am90
11am20
12pm20
1pm110
2pm120
3pm140
4pm150
5pm240
6pm240
7pm220
8pm160
9pm110
10pm80
11pm90
Figure 05Embed this chart

The feed repeats itself

How many messages the feed carried, how many distinct warnings they represent, and how many counties those reached.An echo rate of 2.3× — for every warning issued, 2.3 messages carried it. Reporting messages as warnings would overstate this week by 318.
Messages received373 of them updates to a warning already sent563Distinct warningswhat every figure in this report counts245Counties reacheda warning usually covers several at once115
View as a table
StageCount
Messages received563
Of which updates373
Of which cancels0
Distinct warnings245
Counties reached115
Figure 06Embed this chart

How severe they were

Distinct warnings by the severity the issuing agency assigned.
MinorMinor: 8181ModerateModerate: 9393SevereSevere: 7070ExtremeExtreme: 11
  • Minor
  • Moderate
  • Severe
  • Extreme
View as a table
SeverityWarnings
Minor81
Moderate93
Severe70
Extreme1
Figure 07Embed this chart

What people were told to do

The share of warnings carrying each instruction to the public.These are response counts. They record the instruction an alert carried, not the hazard behind it.
Avoid: 120 (49.0%)Avoid 49%Follow instructions: 52 (21.2%)Shelter: 37 (15.1%)Shelter 15%Everything else: 36 (14.7%)
  • Avoid
  • Follow instructions
  • Shelter
  • Everything else

Where those instructions came from

  • Shelter (37) — 14 corroborated as flood, 23 with no hazard stated in the alert text
View as a table
ResponseWarningsShare
Avoid12049.0%
Follow instructions5221.2%
Shelter3715.1%
Monitor2911.8%
Prepare72.9%

What this report cannot tell you

  • This report records the warnings that were sent: when, where, and what people were told to do. It cannot say whether anyone received them, whether they acted, or whether they had anywhere to go.
  • Deaths, injuries, damage and acreage come from the news organizations and agencies named beside each figure. Our own records measure warnings, never outcomes, and are never the source for a toll.
  • A county is the smallest area these alerts describe, so "a county was warned" does not mean every street in it was at risk.
  • Where no figure has been reported, this report says so rather than estimating.

How these numbers were counted

Counted SEP 21, 2026 – SEP 28, 2026 · Frozen at publish

The alert figures in this report — how many warnings, where, when, and how severe — come from the alerts this archive received from FEMA IPAWS and the National Weather Service between September 21, 2026 and September 28, 2026, counted once and frozen when the report was published.

Deaths, damage and acreage are not ours and are never drawn from this archive. Each is attributed to the organization that reported it, above.

What was counted

  • Only alerts covering at least one county in North Carolina. An alert warning several states is counted in each of them, so state editions do not sum to the national total.
  • cap_status = 'Actual' (tests, exercises and demos excluded)
  • SAME test codes RWT/RMT/DMO/NPT/NAT excluded, and any event type containing "test"
  • An event is the first message of a CAP identifier chain; updates and cancels are counted separately
  • Alert time is cap_sent, falling back to ingest time when the feed omits it
  • Counties come from the alert geocodes (SAME/FIPS); statewide codes are not counted as counties

What these numbers cannot tell you

  • Lead time is the gap between when an alert was sent and when it takes effect. This archive collapses CAP onset into effective, so for many products those are the same instant by design — it is not a measure of forecast warning time.
  • 3 alerts expire exactly 24 hours after they were sent because the feed omitted an expiry and the ingest substitutes a default. They are excluded from the duration distribution rather than charted as real forecasts.
  • Evacuation and shelter figures are RESPONSE counts. They record what people were told to do, not what caused it; where the alert text does not name a hazard, the row is reported as unstated.
  • Hour-of-day figures use each alert’s own local time, resolved from its state. Alerts spanning several states resolve to the first state in their geocodes.
  • National Weather Service alerts began arriving in volume on 2026-06-12. Earlier months hold only the handful that reached this archive by other routes, so they undercount weather alerts badly and cannot be compared with later months.
  • Population figures are not available for these counties, so alert counts are reported per county and never per resident.

This archive

Collection began 2026-03-27. National Weather Service alerts began arriving in volume on 2026-06-12 (a small number reached the archive by other routes from 2026-03-31). Months from 2026-07-01 onward can be compared with each other; earlier ones cannot.

Photographs

The photos come from the reporting each story cites, or from public-domain and openly licensed collections. Each is credited as published and links to the page it came from; none belongs to BePrepared, and each is shown uncropped. To ask for a photo to be removed, write to support@bepreparedsolutions.co.

For newsrooms and researchers

Use these figures

Figures v1 · Frozen

Journalists, emergency managers and researchers are welcome to reuse anything in this report, including the underlying counts, with attribution. Version 1 of these figures is frozen: if a correction changes them, it appears above as a dated note rather than silently replacing what you cited.

Download the figures (CSV)Ask about the data
Cite this report
BePreparedSolutions.co. "Ocean overwash cuts Hatteras road access as storms hit North Carolina." Alert Pulse, October 1, 2026. https://bepreparedsolutions.co/reports/alert-pulse/nc-week-2026-09-21
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Source: BePrepared Solutions, Alert Pulse (2026). Alert counts from FEMA IPAWS and National Weather Service feeds; casualty and damage figures as attributed in the report.
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