Ocracoke events Feb. 9 to 15–updated

February 9, 2026

The freezing and sub-zero temperatures Ocracoke had this past week was enough to frost these Springer’s Point rocks with ice. Photo by Andrew Havenhand

Ocracoke Alive winter activities have begun. To see the full schedule, click here.

Monday, Feb. 9:
Ocracoke Alive: Spanish/English Coffee hour, 8:30 to 9:30 am. Ocracoke Library. Then every Monday through March 23

Ocracoke Middle School girls and boys basketball at home versus Mattamuskeet. Games will be rebroadcast by WOVV, 90.1 FM on the island and wovv.org, first game begins at 4 pm

Ocracoke Alive: Envisioning the future of Ocracoke, the first of eight discussion-based, creative workshops about the island’s long-term future, with Hannah Aronson, a master of city planning student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will facilitate the sessions that will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, Feb. 23, March 2, 9, 17 and 23, in the Deepwater Theater.

The Monday, Feb. 16, session will be combined with the Ocracoke Civic & Business Association meeting at 6 pm in the Community Center where the Ocracoke Access Alliance will talk about their January visit to the N.C. Legislature and discuss challenges regarding long-term ferry sustainability.

Tuesday, Feb 10:
Ocracoke School basketball: Varsity teams play @ Mattamuskeet.

Ocracoke Alive: Cooking/baking Cajun cooking; OUMC Rec hall. 6 pm. To RSVP, click here.

Wednesday, Feb. 11:
Ocracoke Alive: Yoga in Spanish with Sarah Shellow, 8:30 to 9:30 am. Deepwater Theater. Starting Feb. 17, Yoga in Spanish will be Tuesday evenings from 6 to 7 pm in the Deepwater Theater.

Ocracoke Alive: Workshop: Make a breakthrough in 2026 with Claudia Horwitz. Noon to 1:30 pm. Deepwater Theater. away

Ocracoke School basketball: Tentative: Varsity girls play @ Columbia.

Ocracoke Planning Advisory Board meeting. 5:30 pm. Community Center.

Thursday, Feb. 12:
Ocracoke Alive: 9:30am – 10:30am. Ukulele/Guitar with Lou Castro. Deepwater Theater.

Ocracoke Alive: Creative Writing ~ Poetry with Sarah Shellow, 1 to 2:15pm. Deepwater Theater.

Ocracoke Alive: Art: Positive and negative space with Kitty Mitchell, 6 to 8 pm. Deepwater Theater.

Ocracoke Alive: Latin cardio dance class with Arturo, 6 pm. Community Center.

Friday, Feb 13:
WOVV “What’s Happening on Ocracoke:” Host Peter Vankevich talks to members of the Ocracoke School Future Business Leaders of America club. 11 a.m. 90.1 FM.

Ocracoke School basketball: Last Varsity home games versus Mattamuskeet. Games will be broadcast by WOVV, 90.1 FM on the island and wovv.org. Tipoff: 4 pm.

Ocracoke Alive: Improv theater class for adults with Ella Ralston, 6 to 7:30 pm. Deepwater Theater.

Saturday, Feb. 14:

The NC Coastal Land Trust is leading six special hikes across the region to celebrate the places we all love and the friends and supporters who help protect them. Join Jessica Blake, Coastal Land Trust’s associate director and islander Peter Vankevich who will lead a bird walk.
Meet at the entrance to Springer’s Point Preserve at 10:30 am.

Ocracoke School Future Business Leaders of America fundraising bake sale, 11 am to 3 pm. Variety Store porch.
Ocracoke Alive: Hand building pottery angels with Marty Freeman. 10 people maximum. 1 to 3 pm. Deepwater Theater

Ocracoke Alive: Latino/English dinner exchange.

Sunday, Feb. 15:
Church services:
Ocracoke United Methodist Church, 11 am

Ocracoke Life Saving Church, 11 am

Stella Maris Chapel: Sunday Mass time at 4:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Go to Masstimes.org and type in the zip code 27960 but refresh your browser for it to work properly.

The Annual Spaghetti Dinner and Bake Sale fundraiser to benefit the Island Inn Commons, 11 am to 2 pm, Jason’s Restaurant. See flyer below.

Ocracoke Alive: Games/Puzzles for Families & All Ages, 3 to 5 pm. Ocracoke Library.

Ocracoke Alive: Presentation on Hildago, Mexico, culture. 6 pm. Deepwater Theater. Will include a slide presentation and regional food tastings.

Dolphins boys varsity vs. Cape Hatteras Hurricanes. Photo: P. Vankevich/Ocracoke Observer

Award-winning ‘Best Day Ever’ documentary debuts on Ocracoke

February 8, 2026

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Greg Durso rides “The Driving Range.” Photo by Ben Knight

By Connie Leinbach

When does Ocracoke Island ever get to see the state premier of a movie?

Ocracoke was treated to just that on Feb. 4 when documentary filmmaker Ben Knight presented his new film “Best Day Ever.”

The 48-minute film, shown in the Deepwater Theater, has already won numerous awards as it makes the rounds at film festivals, and well it should. It is a joyous work that deserves to be shown far and wide.

Ocracoke Islander Knight directed, edited and filmed (using several other cinematographers) this story about building a world-class mountain bike trail network called The Driving Range in Vermont that those needing adaptive bikes can use.

It tells the story of Greg Durso and Allie Bianchi, both paralyzed and in wheelchairs.

Greg would accompany his friends on biking trails in the Green Mountains, and the friends would continually have to stop and portage Greg over various bridges.

So, as Berne Broudy, who spearheaded the idea and receives co-director credit says in the film, she and Greg’s friends took it upon themselves to create their own adaptive trail network, which in 2024 became the world’s first fully adaptive trail network.

Between scenes of building the trail and glimpses of the surrounding countryside, the audience learns of Greg’s history, whose legs were paralyzed from a childhood sledding accident.

Allie’s accident two years prior left her paralyzed from the neck down with very limited arm mobility.

Knight builds narrative tension with inventive camera angles as the adaptive bikers, along with people on two-wheel bikes, race around hairpin turns, zip down 45-degree (and steeper) rock inclines, then head straight at the audience and, whoosh! Kick up dirt into the camera.

With respect and compassion, Knight invests viewers emotionally into the two characters through touching scenes with their friends.

The courage that Greg and Allie exhibit is palpable, building to a thrilling ending as Greg finally attacks the new course and we get to ride along with Allie as she straps into a specially designed mountain bike and braves the same trail where her life was changed forever.

Knight has captured this joyous and visually beautiful tale with the art of a true storyteller—action, tension, emotion. It’s all there.

This film is as good as any Hollywood feature film in arousing emotion, perhaps even better because this is not fiction. This is the real deal–the struggle and triumph by real human beings, to which we all can relate.

Last year, “Best Day Ever” won the Audience Choice Award in the Overall Documentary category in the Heartland International Film Festival, Indianapolis, Indiana.

It also won audience choice best sports film at Banff, an all-documentary film festival, last year.

“Best Day Ever” will next be shown at the Rialto Theater in Raleigh at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25 as part of the Mountainfilm on Tour event.

The Feb. 4 showing was part of Ocracoke Alive’s winter cultural offerings, which continue to the end of March.

Prior to “Best Day Ever,” Knight showed another of his films, “Mirasol,” about a chili farm in Pueblo, Colorado, famous for its one-of-a-kind chilis that were developed there.

The farm is being squeezed by development, which in Colorado is called “buy and dry,” or buy and sell the water rights, Knight said.

Knight has the gift of being able to draw out emotion from his subjects, and this emanates fully from the people who talk about their farming heritage and how it builds family and community and how it is being threatened.

Some of the film festivals in which ‘Best Day Ever’ has shown.

Extreme cold, strong winds heading our way this weekend

February 6, 2026

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From our news services

The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Morehead City has issued a weather alert: a strong Arctic front will cross the area tonight, bringing dangerously cold conditions Saturday and Sunday.

Strong winds will develop Saturday morning and persist through Saturday night, producing extremely cold wind chill values—ranging from sub-zero to 5 degrees—overnight into Sunday morning. These frigid temperatures could cause frozen pipes.

Travelers should be prepared for possible suspension of ferry service due to the high winds.

Minor soundside flooding of 1 to 2 feet is also possible along Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands from Saturday morning through Sunday morning.

Primary voting to begin soon; voting registration deadline today

February 6, 2026

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By Peter Vankevich

The deadline to register to vote or change your party affiliation for the March Primary Election is at 5 p.m. today (Feb. 6.)

For more information, see “Voter Registration Deadline Approaching for March Primary.”

Early voting on Ocracoke will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on two days only: Thursday, Feb. 19, and Friday, Feb. 20, at the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department, 822 Irvin Garrish Hwy.

Early voting on the mainland will take place at the Hyde County Board of Elections Office in the Public Safety Building, 1223 Main St., Swan Quarter. It runs from Feb. 12, through 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28.

For the March 3 primary, Hyde County offers five ballot types: Democratic, Republican, and nonpartisan ballots for voters 18 and older, plus separate Democratic and Republican ballots for 17-year-olds who will turn 18 before the November general election.

Unaffiliated voters may choose a Democratic ballot, a Republican ballot, or a nonpartisan ballot. Other political parties have no primary contests.

The nonpartisan ballot will only have the referendum asking voter approval for the establishment of the Hyde County Local Sales and Use Tax at the rate of one-quarter percent (0.25%) in addition to all other state and local sales and use taxes.

The youth ballots for 17-year-olds do not include the Hyde County sales tax referendum, which appears only on the adult ballots.

“Since the referendum will be decided in the primary, they cannot vote for that,” Elections Director Viola Williams explained.

This primary will decide which candidates will represent the Republican and Democrat parties in the Nov. 3 mid-term election.

For North Carolina, the field is crowded with candidates wishing to replace retiring Thom Tillis for the U.S. Senate seat.

Democratic candidates are Daryl Farrow, Justin E. Dues, Roy Cooper, Robert Colo, Marcus W. Williams and Orrick Quick.

Republican candidates are Margot Dupre, Richard Dansie, Donald M. (Don) Brown, Michael Whatley, Elizabeth A. Temple, Michele Morrow and Thomas Johnson.

Republican voters are advised not to vote for U.S. Senate candidate Margot Dupre. The State Board of Elections has disqualified her ruling that she is not a properly registered voter or a qualified primary candidate in North Carolina.

For U.S. House of Representatives District 1, there are no Democratic candidates on the ballot because none are competing for this seat, but on the Republican ballot are five candidates: Laurie Buckhout, Asa Buck, Ashley-Nicole Russell, Eric Rouse and Bobby Hanig.

For information on all of the candidates, visit Ballotpedia.

The Hyde County Board of Commissioners at their Nov. 3 meeting passed a resolution to place the proposed sales tax increase on the March 3 ballot. Currently in Hyde County, there is a 6.75% sales tax.

However, this tax would not be on everything.

North Carolina General Statute 105 Article 46 allows counties to levy this tax and under which they can exempt some items.

Hyde County would exempt “unprepared foods” (groceries), gas and prescription medications.

If approved, the sales tax rate on all other items would go to 7%, up from the current rate of 6.75%. Hyde County also has a 5% occupancy tax on all lodging sales.

It is unusual in North Carolina for a referendum to appear only on a primary ballot and not on the November general ballot.

But this year, Hyde joins five other counties, Gates, Granville, Henderson, Martin, and Wayne, in placing a local sales tax referendum on the March primary ballot, according to Gerry Cohen, former director of bill drafting at the North Carolina General Assembly (1981–2014) and current member of the Wake County Board of Elections.

In recent memory, Cohen noted that in the March 2024 primary, the Village of Bald Head Island in Brunswick County had two bond referenda on the March 5 ballot; both passed with more than 60% approval.

In the 2022 primary, Alleghany County was the only county with a similar measure and that also passed.

Williams said Hyde County wanted to hold the referendum as soon as possible.

“They considered having an election just for that but the state said they couldn’t and suggested putting it on the ballot in March,” she said.

Hyde County Manager Kris Noble said the timing is tied to how quickly the sales tax increase could take effect if approved.

“If we waited for November, the start date would be delayed,” she said. “We wanted to have the referendum on a November 2025 ballot but could not, as there were no other elections. We have talked about this extensively and repeatedly at our monthly Board meetings.”

Noble said that, if passed, the additional revenue would help cover costs driven by visitors, such as public safety (sheriff’s deputies, EMS staff, and emergency management staff) and solid waste.

“Considering these two categories, coupled with appropriations to our school system, make up over 75% of the total county budget, and that the first two aforementioned categories only show signs of increasing given the current state of the economy, it will be critical to find other revenue sources to offset the pressures that will be put on the property taxpayer,” she added.

Other important election dates are as follows:

Feb. 12, 2026: In-person early voting begins.
Feb. 17, 2026: Absentee ballot request deadline (5 p.m.)
Feb. 28, 2026: In-person early voting ends (3 p.m.).
March 3, 2026: Primary Election Day.
March 3, 2026: Absentee ballot return deadline (7:30 p.m.)

Occupancy Tax Board seeks proposals for 2026-2027

February 6, 2026

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Ocracoke’s Silver Lake harbor at dusk. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

The Ocracoke Occupancy Tax Board is preparing to award grants to Ocracoke nonprofits and has scheduled the 2026-2027 appropriations meeting for 6 p.m. on Monday, April 20, in the Ocracoke Community Center.

Request packets should be submitted no later than Friday, March 6. PLEASE SUBMIT SIX (6) COPIES OF YOUR REQUEST.

Packets can be dropped off at Ride the Wind Surf Shop, between 10am and 4pm daily. You can also mail your packet to Bob Chestnut, PO Box 700, Ocracoke, NC. 27960.

Information for submitting a grant request is as follows:

Mary Faye Wallace: 1936 to 2026

February 6, 2026

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Mary Faye Jackson Wallace, 89, of Ocracoke, passed away Jan. 29, 2026, while receiving hospice care at Peak Resources in Nags Head. One of her dearest friends was sitting by her side, and her family is grateful she was surrounded by love in her final moments.

Born Aug. 15, 1936, in Pinetown, Beaufort County, she was a daughter of Leamon S. Jackson and Mildred Wadell Jackson.

Mary Faye attended Bath High School, graduating in 1954. In 1956, she married Allen Wayne Wallace. Together, they raised two sons and were beloved members of communities throughout Eastern North Carolina, from Plymouth to Manteo, and especially on Ocracoke Island.

Mary Faye was the widow of Wayne, her husband of 57 years.

She is survived by her sister, Donna Kay Jackson of Grimesland, Pitt County; her son Jeffrey Wallace, his children Brandon, Jessica and Savannah, and daughter-in-law Melissa; and her son Jeremy Wallace, his children Charlie, Mary Emma and Liam, and daughter-in-law Maureen.

Above all, she was “Ma,” a mother and grandmother who provided childhoods rooted in safety, comfort and deep love. Some of her grandchildren’s most cherished memories were shaped on Ocracoke Island, which always felt like a second home.

Summers on Ocracoke were especially dear to Ma. She would pack up her old Jeep with beach chairs, sandwiches and her famous lemonade, then meet up with family and friends and stay until the sun went down. It was never a question whether she wanted to go. Even as she grew older, she made sure she had her beach days — nothing stopping her from soaking in the sun and ocean air. She taught her grandchildren to enjoy the sea and the simple joy of being exactly where they belonged. While her shelves at home were lined with books, there was always one tucked into her beach bag. Family, friends and neighbors were drawn to her, and she treasured those beach conversations, her feet in the sand.

For Ma’s older grandchildren, days on Ocracoke were spent shelling, swimming, attending barbecues, shopping in town and roaming the island barefoot, growing up the way island kids do — surrounded by ocean air, simple pleasures and family love. She was known for driving along the beaches with her rescue dogs, sharing her big heart with every life she touched. Those beach drives, rescued dogs and unhurried island days became the foundation of memories her family will carry forever.

Ma’s younger grandchildren also grew up cherishing their Outer Banks and Ocracoke visits with her. With Little Debbie cakes at the ready, she always had a meal planned — from homemade chili to her famous clam bake — and always her special lemonade.

Ma and Pa devoted themselves to caring for their grandchildren. They attended as many sporting events as possible, serving as a true traveling cheering section no matter the weather. Ma was generous with her time, her love and her encouragement, and her warmth was a steady presence throughout their lives. Phone calls were frequent, often turning into playful rounds of phone tag to check in, her goodbyes usually preceded by, “Well, that’s all I know. Take care of each other.”

Her sense of humor never faltered. She was incredibly smart, clever and conscientious of those around her. Even in her final days, she met difficult moments with a smile and a gentle joke, bringing light and comfort to those around her.

Throughout her life, Mary Faye demonstrated a strong entrepreneurial spirit, owning The Gray Goose gift shops in Plymouth and on Ocracoke, which she filled with coastal knickknacks that allowed others to bring home special memories from her favorite places. She regularly volunteered at the Outer Banks Hotline. An expert shopper, she will also be remembered fondly for braving Charlotte-area sales one year after Thanksgiving dinner while visiting Jeremy’s family.

Mary Faye never met a stranger, instead gathering friendships like shells. Her family is deeply grateful for the many kindnesses those friends shared with her, from check-in phone calls to dinner plates dropped off and evening visits on her porch. She embodied true North Carolina Southern charm and possessed a presence that felt familiar, comforting and unmistakably her own.

Ma’s kindness also made her a second mother to many. Friends from Jeffrey’s and Jeremy’s childhoods would still stop by over the years as adults to check on Mary Faye and introduce her to their own families. Fittingly, she collected lighthouses, reflecting who she was — a steady guide, a place of safety and a symbol of home. For her family, lighthouses will continue to stand as a reminder of her unwavering love.

Ocracoke will always carry her heart. Though her family grieves her loss, they take comfort in knowing she is reunited with Wayne, waiting for the rest of the family somewhere down the line. Her love, lessons and laughter live on in the generations she helped shape.

Arrangements are under the direction of Twiford Funeral Homes. She will be laid to rest alongside her husband at Roanoke Island Memorial Gardens. The family plans to celebrate her life later this summer on Ocracoke and will share details once finalized.

A special thank you to the nurses and team at Peak Resources and The Outer Banks Hospital, and to all the family, friends and neighbors who visited her and have reached out to share condolences and favorite memories.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor her life are invited to make a donation to the Outer Banks Hotline. Donations may be made online at https://obhotline.org/how-to-help/donate/.

Ocracoke Access Alliance urges full funding of North Carolina Ferry System in FY 2027 budget

February 4, 2026

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A Pamlic Sound ferry leaves Ocracoke’s Silver Lake harbor. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

Editor’s note: Justin LeBlanc will talk at the Ocracoke Civic & Business Association meeting about what the Ocracoke Access Alliance did and learned from their trip to the NC Legislature in Raleigh in January about Ferry Division funding and tolling. The meeting will be Monday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m. in the Community Center.

From our news services

The Ocracoke Access Alliance has sent a letter to Gov. Josh Stein and North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson to fully fund the North Carolina Ferry Division’s Fiscal Year 2027 expansion budget request.

The letter emphasizes that the ferry system is a vital component of the state highway system and essential to coastal communities and regional economies.

The alliance stresses that full funding—particularly for recurring operations and maintenance and continued reduction of deferred maintenance—is critical to ensuring safe, reliable, and fully operational ferry service across eastern North Carolina.

“The North Carolina Ferry System is not a discretionary amenity,” Justin LeBlanc, executive director, said. “It is a core transportation asset that provides essential access to island and peninsula communities, supports economic activity, and ensures mobility for residents, workers, emergency responders and visitors. For many communities, ferries are the only practical and dependable connection to the rest of the state.”

In recent years, the Ferry Division has faced mounting challenges driven by rising fuel costs, increasing vessel maintenance demands, workforce recruitment and retention pressures, and growing service expectations.

These pressures have resulted in service reductions, delayed maintenance, and operational instability that directly affect residents, businesses, and local economies.

LeBlanc said that the North Carolina governor sends his request to the General Assembly, but what’s included in that budget is not released until after it’s transmitted.

Right now, the state is in fiscal year 2025-2027 biennial budget, for which the General Assembly still has not passed a budget.

North Carolina enters 2026 as the only state in the country without an enacted budget, according to NC Newsline.

Republican House and Senate leaders have been at an impasse since the summer of 2025, leaving town in October of last year without passing a new spending package. Key points of contention are how much to bump pay for state workers and teachers, whether to adjust the state’s planned income tax cuts and whether to fund a planned children’s hospital.

Legislators are coming back for an administrative session this month, but there’s still no sign of progress toward a deal.

No votes are expected in the Senate until April, after the March 3 primary, LeBlanc said.

When lawmakers fail to pass a budget before July 1, the state operates on a continuation budget.

Agencies get the same level of funding as the previous year, but there are limitations: they don’t get the previous year’s one-time “non-recurring” funding, and their budgets are not adjusted for population increases, inflation or other sources of increased need.

In North Carolina, the state budget operates on a biennial basis, meaning the current budget covers two fiscal years beginning on July 1 2025, and ending on June 30, 2027, with an “adjustments budget” submitted by the governor midway.

LeBlanc said that Stein’s FY 2027 expansion budget request is intended to restore and sustain full operational and maintenance capacity—not to expand service beyond need, but to ensure the existing system functions as intended.

Fully funding the request would allow the Ferry Division to maintain vessels in a state of good repair, ensure adequate staffing for safe operations, provide predictable schedules essential for commerce and tourism, and protect prior state investments in vessels and terminal infrastructure, LeBlanc said.

“Failure to fully fund the request would perpetuate service instability and deferred maintenance, increasing long-term costs to the state while undermining public confidence in a critical transportation system,” he said.

For more information on the alliance visit www.ocracokeaccesalliance.org.

Ocracoke events Feb. 2 to 8–updated

February 2, 2026

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NC12 remains CLOSED on the north end of Ocracoke due to continued ocean overwash from this weekend’s nor’easter. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

This NCDOT photo shows the north end of Ocracoke at 6:55 am Feb. 2. NC12 remains CLOSED between the Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe ocean overwash continues from this weekend’s nor’easter. Overwash also is occurring at Buxton corner and on Rodanthe secondaries. Crews will be out working to clear today.

Because of ocean overwach at the north end, ferry service to Hatteras is suspended on Feb. 2 as are the long-route ferries across the Pamlico Sound.

Monday, Feb. 2:
Ocracoke Alive: Spanish/English Coffee hour, 8:15 to 9:15 am. Ocracoke Library. Then every Monday through March 23.

Ocracoke Alive: Envisioning the future of Ocracoke, the first of eight discussion-based, creative workshops about the island’s long-term future, with Hannah Aronson, a master of city planning student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will facilitate the sessions that will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, Feb. 2, 9, 23, March 2, 9, 17 and 23, in the Deepwater Theater. Monday, Feb. 16, will be the OCBA meeting in which the Ocracoke Access Alliance will talk about their recent trip to state legislators in Raleigh to advocate for ferry funding and north end access.

Tuesday, Feb 3:
Ocracke School basketball games switched to Wednesday.

Wednesday, Feb. 4:
Ocracoke Alive: Yoga in Spanish with Sarah Shellow, 8:30 to 9:30 am. Deepwater Theater.

Ocracaoke School basketball: Varsity girls vs. Hatteras @ 5 pm; followed by varsity boys. Games will be broadcast on WOVV, 90.1 FM on the island and wovv.org.

Ocracoke Alive: The North Carolina premier of “The Best Day Ever,” a documentary by islander Ben Knight and a second documentary, “Mirasol.” 6:30 to 8 pm. Deepwater Theater.

Thursday, Feb. 5:
Ocracoke Alive: 9:30 am – 10:30am. Ukulele/Guitar with Lou Castro. Deepwater Theater.

Hyde County Commissioners meeting, 1 p.m. Livestreamed on Hyde County Publlic Information Facebook page. Agenda below.

Ocracoke Alive: Creative Writing ~ Poetry with Sarah Shellow (Session 2), 1 to 2:15 pm. Deepwater Theater.

Ocracoke Alive: Art: Gesture drawings/Proportions with Kitty Mitchell, 6 to 8 pm. Deepwater Theater.

Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department (OVFD) meeting, Those wanting to become a volunteer are welcome, fire house, 822 Irvin Garrish Hwy, 6 pm.

Ocracoke Decoy Carvers Guild meeting, 7 pm. Community Center.

Friday, Feb 6:
WOVV “What’s Happening on Ocracoke:” Host Peter Vankevich talks to OBX journalist Kip Tabb, 11:30 am, 90.1 FM on the island and wovv.org.

Amy Howard will teach the art of landscape felting at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, in the Deepwater Theater.

Ocracoke School basketball: varsity girls and boys travel to Hobgood Charter School.

Ocracoke Alive: Latino dance workshop 8 pm followed by a dance at 9 pm. Community Center.

Saturday, Feb. 7:
Ocracoke Alive: Landscape needle felting with Amy Howard. Maximum of 10. 1 to 3 pm. Deepwater Theater. Class may be full (supplies are limited) but those interested are invited to watch.

Sunday, Feb. 8:
Church services:
Ocracoke United Methodist Church, 11 am
Ocracoke Life Saving Church, 11 am
Stella Maris Chapel: Sunday Mass time at 4:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Go to Masstimes.org and type in the zip code 27960 but refresh your browser for it to work properly.

Ocracoke Alive: Basic CPR with Hyde County EMS. 2 to 5 pm.

Ocracoke Alive: Games/Puzzles for Families & All Ages, 3 to 5 pm. Ocracoke Library.

Ocracoke Alive: Cooking enchiladas Oaxaquenos with Jesús. 5 to 7 pm. OUMC Rec Hall.

Ocracoke spared heavy snow but remains in cold grip

February 1, 2026

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The Ocracoke Lighthouse and Double Keepers Quarters on Sunday, Feb. 1. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

Editor’s note: This story was updated Feb. 2 with snow accumulation totals and Hyde County services information.

Unlike other areas of the state, Ocracoke Island had to dig out of only a few inches of snow on Sunday (Feb. 1), but below-freezing temperatures kept the island in winter mode.

Village streets were mostly snow covered in the morning and island NCDOT worker Shanon Eiben spent the day scraping off the snow.

Shanon Eiben spends Sunday scraping Ocracoke roads. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

Following a night of gusting winds Saturday, the island lost power late Sunday morning. Tideland Electric Membership Cooperative crews quickly jumped onto fixing the outage, which was fully restored island-wide by 3:30 p.m. Tideland officials did not give a cause for the outage but it occurred on the island.

Hyde County issued the following snowfall information on Feb. 1:

Mainland Hyde: Townships including Swan Quarter, Engelhard, and Fairfield are reporting widespread accumulations of 12+ inches, with localized drifts much higher due to intense wind.
Ocracoke Island: Reliable reports show totals in the 4–6 inch range, accompanied by significant soundside and oceanside flooding that has covered portions of NC Highway 12.
County Offices: All Hyde County Government offices will be CLOSED on Monday, February 2, to allow for continued recovery and road-clearing efforts.
Board of Commissioners: The regular Hyde County Board of Commissioners meeting, originally scheduled for Monday, has been rescheduled to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5.
Solid Waste: Solid Waste sites remain closed until conditions allow for safe operation.

The National Weather Service forecasts cold weather to continue into Tuesday.

Ocracoke School will be closed on Monday and the Ocracoke Health Center and its pharmacy will be closed Monday and Tuesday .

High winds blew the snow off the beach. Photo: P. Vankevich/Ocracoke Observer

Several weather warnings also remain in effect until Feb. 2, including a Winter Storm Warning, Coastal Flood Warning, High Wind Warning, High Surf Warning, and Extreme Cold Warning.

NC Highway 12 remains closed between Rodanthe and Oregon Inlet due to hazardous conditions and on Ocracoke from the pony pens north, and all ferry operations to and from Ocracoke Island remain suspended.

The all-time record low of 13°F occurred on Feb. 20, 2015. On Jan. 24, 2003, nine inches of snow fell on the island and remained on the ground for five days.

Howard Street. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

The Island Inn Commons with a winter look. Photo: P. Vankevich/Ocracoke Observer

Community Square in snow flurries, Jan. 31, 2026. Photo: P. Vankevich/Ocracoke Observer

What are those weird rocks I found on the beach?

February 1, 2026

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What’s that rock amidst those shells? It looks like petrified sand.

Editor’s note: This story was first published in the August 2025 issue of the Ocracoke Observer.

Text and photos by Connie Leinbach

Ocracoke beach shelling is different from elsewhere along the East Coast.

When you walk along the beach you will see myriad bivalves and gastropods, sometimes in large clusters of whole shells and pieces called “shell hash.”

Among the shell detritus, you might see a hunk of coal (most likely from a sunken ship in the Graveyard of the Atlantic), or what looks like a river or landscaping stone, or what look like a hunk of petrified sand.

Someone once suggested that “petrified sand” was made from lightning striking the sand and melting it together.

Those items are called fulgurites, but the “petrified sand” specimens that can be found on the Ocracoke beach are not fulgurites.

Dr. Stanley Riggs explains the different ‘petrified sand’ rocks that can be found on the beach. This one is a mud stone.

They are locally called “marl” and are pieces of prehistory, according to coastal geologist Stanley Riggs, East Carolina Distinguished Research professor emeritus and author of “The Battle for the North Carolina Coast.”

Riggs visited Ocracoke with the Coastal Land Trust in the spring and graciously took time to answer questions about certain beach finds.

Some of them – the smooth ones — are “mud stones” and were created over thousands of years under pressure in the ocean.

“They probably go back 75,000 to 100,000 years,” he said while examining several specimens.

These “rocks” broke off from the “fine mud” off the edges of the capes.

If you look at the Carolina coast, you have several capes, he said, which differ from shorelines in the north.

This coquina shows where small sea creatures bored into the sand covering it.

“Every one of these capes has this kind of rock,” he said. “The reason these capes stick out in the ocean is that most of them have something underneath them and that something is this rock.”

These smoother specimens are probably calcareous mud.

In other specimens that look like coarse sand, he noted the presence of little holes made by clams boring into them and the imprints of sponges that lived on the top, which, over the many years, became bound together.

These were not in the mud flats.

“These are coquinas,” he said, which differs from coquina clams one sees drilling down into the surf, and which the dictionary says is “a soft, whitish limestone formed of broken shells and corals cemented together.”

If you went out into the surf beyond the breakers and drill down, you’d get multiple layers of sand and muddy sand all packed together for tens if not hundreds of thousands of years, he said.

Gretchen Miller, a senior professor of geology at Wake Tech Community College, Raleigh, also looked at the specimens while visiting Ocracoke in the spring.

Upon examining the coquinas, she noted that the ocean, which is mostly salt, contains myriad other minerals and chemicals.

“So, the critters take these chemicals out of the water to make their hard parts,” she said.

And when they die those hard parts fall to the ocean floor and become sediment, which then, with the help of minerals acting as glue, cement it together turning it into rock.

Riggs solved the mystery of a black, cylindrical piece this reporter found on the beach and which she thought might have been a fulgurite.

“This is a crab burrow that was cemented in the tide zone,” he said, noting that it got its black appearance by having been in a muddy, peat environment that was without oxygen, or an “inoxide” environment.

Black shells, many of which are oyster shells, are plentiful on Ocracoke’s beach, and Riggs said these are fossil shells.

“Those oyster shells will be anywhere from 200 to 1,000 years old,” he said. “They lived on the back side of the barrier, in the marsh. They’re intertidal. The island came over the top of them and washed them into the ocean.”

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