The Hyde County Board of Commissioners enacted a state of emergency in advance of Hurricane Dorian that went into effect this morning at 5 a.m. Local officials will meet again today to discuss the forecast and any additional emergency protective measures necessitated by the weather conditions.

Given the current forecast for Hurricane Dorian, the NCDOT Ferry Division has announced that today will be the last day the passenger ferry “Ocracoke Express” will be in operation this season. The early discontinuation of service will allow the vessel to embark to safe harbor long before the arrival of adverse conditions.

Individuals should remain vigilant and review their household hurricane and evacuation plans to ensure they are prepared to take action if necessary.  If you do not have a hurricane plan, you can visit www.ready.gov/make-a-plan for step-by-step guidance on how to plan and prepare for them. It is strongly recommended that Hyde County residents and nonresident property owners have their preparations completed by Monday at sunset and ready to take action as early as Tuesday.

The National Hurricane Center has initiated probabilistic surge mapping and low lying areas of Hyde County, including Ocracoke Island, could start receiving storm surge of greater than one foot above the ground within the next three days. This is well ahead of the Dorian’s arrival, which is projected to occur on Thursday into Friday, and these values will only increase over the coming days. Please keep in mind that highways along the coast frequently suffer overwash during periods of surge and everyone should make their evacuation plans accordingly.

In addition, the Weather Prediction Center has forecast six to ten inches of precipitation to accumulate across mainland Hyde County over the next seven days and 10 to 15 inches to accumulate across Ocracoke Island over the same time frame.

The Hyde County Emergency Services Department will continue to monitor the forecast for Hurricane Dorian and issue advisories as appropriate. For the most current and official information please monitor the National Hurricane Center website at www.nhc.noaa.gov/.