From our news services North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey has announced that the North Carolina Rate Bureau filed a rate filing with the North Carolina Department of Insurance on Wednesday asking for an average statewide increase in homeowners’ insurance rates of 42.2%.
According to a table on the N.C. Department of Insurance website, the proposed increase for the beach area of Hyde County–Ocracoke–would be 45.1% and the coastal areas of mainland Hyde County would be 33.9%. See table below.
The North Carolina Rate Bureau, which represents companies that write insurance policies in the state and is a separate entity from the North Carolina Department of Insurance, has asked for the rates to become effective Aug. 1.
This rate filing follows the homeowners’ insurance rate filing that the Department of Insurance received from the North Carolina Rate Bureau in November 2020, where the Rate Bureau requested an overall average increase of 24.5%. That filing resulted in a settlement between Commissioner Causey and the Rate Bureau for an overall average rate increase of 7.9%.
A public comment period is required by law to give the public time to address the proposed rate increase. There are four ways to provide comments:
A public comment forum will be held to listen to public input on the North Carolina Rate Bureau’s rate increase request at the North Carolina Department of Insurance’s Jim Long Hearing Room from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 22. The Jim Long Hearing Room is in the Albemarle Building, 325 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, 27603.
Written public comments must be received by Kimberly W. Pearce, Paralegal III, by Feb. 2 and addressed to 1201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1201.
All public comments will be shared with the North Carolina Rate Bureau.
If Department of Insurance officials do not agree with the requested rates, the rates will either be denied or negotiated with the North Carolina Rate Bureau. If a settlement cannot be reached within 50 days, the commissioner will call for a hearing.
Hyde County Manager Kris Noble said she will draw up a resolution opposing this rate hike for the Hyde County commissioners to pass.
Community Square at twilight. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
By Scott Bradley
The Ocracoke Foundation in November celebrated 10 years of stewardship of the Community Square, located along the shore of Silver Lake in downtown Ocracoke.
It has served as a hub for commerce and social activity for decades. Many early island photographs depict daily life centered around the Square’s iconic Community Store, the Will Willis Fish House, the Ice Plant and the island’s first generator plant.
In 1918, Amasa “Mace” Fulcher’s grocery faced the harbor, appropriate for a business whose freight arrived by boat. Island men gathered on the porch to share stories, whittle birds and ponder the ways of fish. In winter months, the congregation moved inside near the pot-bellied stove. The daily arrival of the mail boat Aleta drew many islanders from their homes.
The Community Square is an irreplaceable community asset that can model how rural communities can put their assets to work: save historic properties, provide space for locally owned small businesses, maintain waterfront access and public open space, be a focal point for tourism and use the lease income as a permanent endowment to benefit our island.
The Community Square was listed for public sale in 2009.Working with the seller, David Senseney, in November 2013 the Ocracoke Foundation (OF) was able to purchase the square for $1.6 million. This was made possible by two interim loans: with The Conservation Fund and the McDermott Family each making loans of $800,000.
OF’s primary concern was losing the square, the heart of the island’s maritime heritage and businesses, to private development. OF’s intent was to take this valuable island asset, restore and preserve it, and direct a significant portion of rental income into a Community Fund and Grants Program to benefit the community.
The dock at the Ocracoke Working Watermen’s exhibit in the former Jack Willis Store is rebuilt. Photo by Scott Bradley
In December 2017 the $800,000 loan from The Conservation Fund was repaid with a new loan of $600,000 from TowneBank, and $200,000 from 200+ individual donations and other sources. In May 2020 the Ocracoke Foundation received a gift of $800,000 from Keith and Isabelle McDermott of London, England, and Ocracoke.
This donation transformed their loan, made in November 2013, to help purchase the Community Square, to a gift to benefit our community.
This iconic maritime heritage site would not be in community ownership without the vision, generosity and commitment of the McDermotts, The Conservation Fund, TowneBank and individual donors, and significant support for improvements from Golden LEAF and the Ocracoke Occupancy Tax Board.
The new dock and refurbished Working Watermen’s exhibit in the former Jack’s Store. The project received the OPS Historic Structure award in November. Photo by Scott Bradley
Major improvement projects 2018–2021: $1,009,000
The impact of Tropical Storm Hermine in September 2016, followed by the then record-setting flood waters of Hurricane Matthew one month later, made it clear that the five National Register historic structures and two docks required repairs, flood mitigation and restoration. A century of storms has taken its toll on structures 80 to 120 years old.
In Spring 2018 storm water and septic/wastewater improvements were completed, including repaving the parking lot with water-absorbing pervious pavers. Old cistern septic tanks for bathroom and food service waste were replaced with a modern system. These costly, environmentally significant investments reduce runoff into Silver Lake and were made possible by Golden LEAF Foundation and Community Square Lease Income (Project: $319,000).
In August 2019 the support structure for the Willis Store & Fish House (ca. 1930) and surrounding dock and platform areas were raised and rebuilt and 200+ feet of shoreline bulkhead installed. This $387,000 project was supported by Golden LEAF, Ocracoke Occupancy Tax Funds and Community Square lease income.
On September 6, 2019, Hurricane Dorianinundated the island with an unprecedented 7.5-foot storm surge that damaged hundreds of structures. At the square, the new Willis Dock held strong, but the Willis Store, having just been raised 20 inches, was flooded with 18 inches of water, causing significant interior damage to the Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Association (OWWA) Exhibit spaces and artifacts. Refurbishing the Willis Store and OWWA Exhibit was completed in late 2023.
The main dock by the Community Store was totally destroyed. TJ’s Marine Construction completed rebuilding it in June 2021. The $303,000 project was funded by Golden-LEAF and Community Square lease income.
The five buildings on the National Register of Historic Places:
Community Store building (ca. 1918): Significant repairs and restoration including new roofing, interior/exterior painting, siding, and upgrades completed including new HVAC, bathroom, full commercial kitchen. Two tenants: Stockroom Street Food, and Village Thrift Shop (whose profits benefit Ocracoke Youth Center and Community Park).
William Williams House (ca. 1900): ongoing repairs, significant restoration scheduled for 2024; Tenants: Ragged Sailor Trading Company and the Ocracoke Foundation office.
Electric/Water Office (ca. 1936) – Interior/exterior paint and siding, new roofing, new HVAC. Tenant: Sea Break Gifts.
Willis Store & Fish House (ca.1930): Restoration and repairs include new roof, new siding, interior and exterior painting, electrical improvements. The OWWA and Duck Decoy Carvers Exhibits are now open, after extensive repair from damage from Hurricane Dorian. Funding support from FEMA and Ocracoke Foundation.
Dockage: The main dock and Willis Dock now total 18 slips for local commercial and recreational boats.
Protective Easements to protect the historic preservation are in process, completion anticipated in early 2024.
Community Grants Fund: Income over the last 10 years has primarily been used for repairs and improvements, as well as operating costs such as flood, property and liability insurance; septic and utilities; and principal and interest payments to TowneBank for the purchase loan. The remaining debt is $350,000.
In 2023, OF made its first significant payment from the Community Fund, with a $50,000 loan to the OPS Island Inn Project (Interest and principal payments will go back into the Community Fund), and $5,000 donations each to the “Food for Folks” program of the United Methodist Church, and to the Island Inn Commons Landscaping Project.
Clarification: This story was corrected as to one of the tenants in the William Williams House, which is the Ragged Sailor Trading Company. Mermaid’s Folly is across the street.
A new dock connects the Working Watermen’s exhibit with the William Williams house. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
An unoccupied house in Rodanthe collapses in May 2022. Photo: National Park Service
January 15, 2024 Reprinted by permission from Carolina Forward By Justin King
Last week, the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance announced that the North Carolina Rate Bureau submitted filings asking for an average home insurance increase of 42% statewide. I have been a licensed insurance agent in NC for over 15 years, and the amount of understandable public outrage we’ve seen is unlike any other rate filing in my career. Consumers have every right to be shocked when insurance companies are asking for increases as high as 99% (doubling!) in many coastal communities.
I read through the entire rate filing, and the data matches what I’m seeing on the ground in my insurance agency. The property insurance market globally is often referred to as a “hard” market.
In the industry, a “hard” market translates into coverage and providers being difficult to come by for property insurance risk. Hard market conditions are being fueled by increasing climate change-related disasters occurring all around the world, including here in North Carolina. This particular rate filing provides claim data covering calendar years 2017-2021 as justification for the rate increase. More recent weather patterns suggest that storm severity was much worse in 2023.
We have fewer home insurance companies doing business in NC today than we did this time last year. When you have fewer companies doing business in a marketplace, competition declines and premiums rise. This is basic supply and demand, exactly as you learned about in an entry-level economics course. The insurance companies that remain in the market have severely tightened their underwriting standards, or even stopped taking on new customers altogether.
So why are there fewer companies doing business in North Carolina today than this time last year? It’s pretty simple: actuarial models used by the insurance industry for decades are failing to account for increased storm activity and the subsequent claim payouts needed to repair damages. A number of companies headquartered in Florida and Louisiana went insolvent because of this, and some of them also did business in our state.
The companies that remain standing do not have the financial and underwriting capacity to take in everyone that needs home insurance coverage given the current hard market conditions. The worst possible outcome would be to pay premiums to a company only to find out after you filed a claim that the company doesn’t have the money to reimburse for the damage. But this is exactly what we’ve seen happen in Florida and Louisiana, and it could happen in North Carolina should we experience catastrophic damage.
More people are choosing to live in coastal states that are prone to hurricane wind damage and other severe storms. Our state is growing and that is increasing the demand for home insurance coverage in both the metro and coastal areas of NC. Yet when presented with an opportunity to possibly lower home insurance rates through modernization, state lawmakers decided to freeze building codes until 2031 with House Bill 488 (for which they overrode Governor Cooper’s veto).
I routinely see shingles that need replacement inside of five years because of the frequency and severity of hail damage in the Raleigh area. Cheap roofing materials are no doubt contributing to the proposed rate increases for Wake County.
Most insurance companies are for-profit entities that have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to return a profit. If there is no potential profit outcome in a state such as ours for home insurance, then they won’t risk shareholder assets on the mere hope that things might turn out better than expected. Even the mutual insurance companies – those owned by the policyholders and not shareholders – have struggled with this. Nationwide Insurance, the largest company by premium volume in the state and a mutual insurance company, recently announced plans not to renew over 10,000 policies in North Carolina.
Climate change is here, it’s real, and it’s not going away. Every time conservative politicians in Raleigh spout more fake outrage over Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing (ESG) and the Green New Deal, voters should know that their inaction is going to cost us much more dearly down the road through future rate increases or even further insurance market contraction.
Justin King is an independent insurance agent in Raleigh and a Senior Fellow at Carolina Forward.
Tuesday, Jan. 16 Ocracoke Civic & Business Association meeting, 6 pm. Community Center.
Ocracoke School JV & varsity basketball away at Columbia. 4 pm.
Wednesday, Jan. 17 Roanoke Island Animal Clinic at the Community Center. Appointments begin at 11 am. Call 252 473-3117 so they can bring the pet’s records.
Ocracoke Waterways Commission, 6:30 pm. Community Center. Meeting will be livestreamed on the Hyde County Public Information Facebook page.
Ocracoke School middle school basketball away at Columbia. 4 pm.
The sidecaster dredge Merritt works in the Hatteras Inlet. Photo: C. Leinbach
Jan. 13, 2024 Island Free Press By Catherine Kozak
Faced with increasingly dangerous conditions in Sloop Channel, the North Carolina Ferry Division has sought an emergency declaration to address safety for ferry traffic in Hatteras Inlet. Now it appears likely the Army Corps of Engineers will soon be able to provide the necessary work.
“We heard you loud and clear,” Bob Keistler, Army Corps of Engineers Chief of Civil Works Programs and Project Management at the Wilmington district, told the Dare County Waterways Commission at its Jan. 8, meeting in Manteo.
Although he said that he expects that the Corps will have authorization to widen the pinched area by Barney Slough before month’s end, there are still questions about what other work the permit will require, such as a submerged aquatic vegetation survey or soil samples.
But Keistler, who was speaking remotely, said an emergency declaration would allow the Corps to dredge an alternate channel while additional permit requirements were being completed, similar to what was granted last year for Oregon Inlet.
“I would argue it’s kind of the same thing,” he said.
An emergency declaration in August 2022 authorized the Corps to dredge a new channel under the Basnight Bridge in Oregon Inlet while it completed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.
Shoaling in Barney Slough, aggravated by recent storms, has shifted Sloop Channel to the southwest and significantly narrowed the navigation route, Dare County Manager Bobby Outten wrote in a recent letter to Col. Brad Morgan, the Corps’ Wilmington District commander.
Danny Badillo tries to block a 3-point shot. Photo by Leslie Cole
By Richard Taylor
Travel fatigue, defensive woes, missed shots, plus playing in an unfamiliar gym, overcame Ocracoke during two late December games at the Patuxent Holiday Classic, in Lusby, MD.
After trailing Calvert High School most of the first game, two foul shots by Danny Badillo gave the Dolphins a 40-39 lead over the Cavaliers at the end of the third quarter. But Ocracoke was tired by the fourth quarter, falling 63-50 to Calvert, Dec. 28. The next evening, Ocracoke then lost 59-51 to host Patauxent High, despite leading much of the game.
“Our defense is nowhere as good as it was this time last year,” Dolphin varsity coach Frank Moore explained by phone New Years Day as he returned home on the Hatteras ferry. “We were competitive against Patuxent right up to the end. We’ve got to learn to play defense the whole game, not just for one or two quarters. We score good points ourselves, but we’re not stopping enough of their shots.”
The Dolphins will begin defense of their Atlantic 5 (1A) regular season championship at Columbia on Jan. 16. Bear Grass Charter, the 2023 tournament champion, invades The Tank Jan. 19. Ocracoke was 8-1 in conference last year, including two wins over Bear Grass, before losing to the Bears in the conference title game, 37-36, on Feb. 26. The Hobgood Charter Raiders, previously an independent team, joined the Atlantic 5 this year.
Reflecting on last year’s disappointing home tournament loss to Bear Grass, Moore said, “That might have been the ugliest game I’ve ever coached. But, we played well against Jones Central (in the first round of the state (1A East) playoffs, possibly one of our better games of the year.”
The Dolphins beat Jones 74-70, before losing to West Columbus in the next playoff round. Due to the Dolphins’ higher seeding, both were home games.
“I’m most worried that our defense is nowhere as good as it was at this time last year,” Moore said. “We can score points, but we’re not stopping our opponents as well as we should. We’ve got to work on that.”
“I’m excited our Dolphins could play in that holiday tournament,” Ocracoke Principal Leslie told the Observer by text message. “A big shout out to Coach Frank Moore for all his work to make it happen. Also, a very big thank you to the parents who drove and made sure the team got to the tournament. It was a tough loss, but they played well. I’m proud of them all. And I really appreciate Tommy Hutcherson for calling the games on WOVV.”
Despite those two road losses in Lusby, Moore was proud how his small island team matured from playing two hard-fought games against larger out-of-state schools in Maryland.
Tommy Hutcherson calls the game in Maryland. Photo by Leslie Cole
“We have nothing to be ashamed of,” he boasted. “We go right into our conference schedule this week. I hope we can improve where it really matters. We want to win that conference again this year.”
Moore always preaches defense, defense, defense at sideline time-out huddles, notes WOVV broadcaster Hutcherson. “We’ve got to play defense the whole game, not just for one or two quarters,” the Dolphin coach emphasizes. “Now is when it really matters.”
Hutcherson noted that about 25 islanders made the trip to Patuxent.
“That’s a darn good showing,” he said. “I’ll tell you, it was no easy undertaking coming all the way up here. The folks up there in Lusby treated us really well, and the officiating was good.”
The Dolphins were behind by 20 points against Calvert, before coming back to briefly take the lead, 40-39 at the end of the third quarter. That prompted Hutcherson to say on the radio, “We’re tired, but we had arrived.”
When the Dolphins tied the score 31-31 against Calvert in the third quarter of the first game, Hutcherson said, “We’ve got something going here.”
After Calvert took the lead 37-34, Danny Badillo was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. He sank all three foul shots. “We’re tied 37-37, ladies and gentlemen,” Tommy said. “Tell you what, Danny’s had a heck of a game. He’s a force to be reckoned with when he’s on his game.”
With two minutes left against the home team, two free-throws by Gavin Elicker tied the game 51-51. The Panthers then pulled ahead for good, 54-51. That was the first time the Patuxent had led since early in the game.
A Patuxent full-court press caused Ocracoke to subsequently miss multiple shots with under a minute to play. Rahnier Lyons then stepped on the line while attempting a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left.
“I tell you what, Ocracoke is on the wrong end of this score,” Hutcherson said. “We’re going to need a miracle.” When Danny Badillo’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer rimmed out, he lamented, “They’ve had a great game, compared to the one they had yesterday.
“It was fun calling the games from Patuxent High School in Lusby, Maryland, and a very good learning experience. Playing with a shot-clock is going to make our boys better going into the conference. We’re very proud of our players and their parents for getting them here. We made a valiant effort for two really good games, but Ocracoke just couldn’t quite pull it out.”
Leading Dolphin scorers against Patuxent were Danny Badillo, 7; Rahnier Shack-anier Lyons, 9; Landon Landino Fuller, 14 and Finn Kattenburg, 18. Scoring against Calvert was not a available.
Ocracoke was 8-1 in conference last year, including two wins against Bear Grass, before losing to the Bears 37-36 in the regular season title game at home, Jan. 16. The Dolphins then beat Jones County 74-70 in the first round of the state eastern 1A playoffs, before falling to West Columbus. 62-49, in the second round.
“We go right into our conference schedule at 7-4 next week,” Moore said. “I hope we can improve where it really matters. We want to win the league title again this year.”
WOVV broadcasts all Dolphin home varsity, J.V. and middle school games on 90.1 FM and online at wovv.rocks.
Ocracoke Dolphin Rahnier Lyons, in blue, jumps the ball at center court. Photo by Leslie Cole
The Ocracoke Dolphins and their coaches. Photo by Leslie Cole
Although not expected to be as severe as Tuesday’s storm, the National Weather Service has issued a warning to expect on Friday night strong to severe thunderstorms and gusty winds of 45-50 mph locally in the coastal counties.
A wind advisory has been issued for many coastal counties and dangerous marine conditions will exist.
Coastal flooding is not expected as the duration of southwesterly low-end gales is quite brief. Water levels could reach as high as 1 foot above normal.
For questions regarding Hatteras Inlet ferry service, call 252 996-6000.
Thousands of Double-crested Cormorants congregate on South Point during the Christmas Bird Count. Photo: P. Vankevich
By Peter Vankevich
In the predawn of Dec. 30, several vehicles pulled into the Variety Store parking lot. With a few brief conversations and the handing out of some sheets, the folks got back into their vehicles and drove off to various parts of Ocracoke Island.
These were volunteers for the Ocracoke Christmas Bird Count and the sheets had a checklist of birds they may encounter.
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is the oldest sustained wildlife census in North America. It started on Christmas Day in 1900 as an alternative to hunting during the holiday events. Typically back then, family and friends would gather for a large Christmas Hunt, bringing in whatever they could as a sort of competition.
An ornithologist, Frank M. Chapman, suggested to his friends that instead of hunting birds, they should count them and see who could find the most.
Ranging from Ontario to California, 25 bird counts took place that first year, and it has grown every year. Last year, there were a total of 2,261 counts worldwide. Ocracoke joined the other counts in 1981 and braving harsh weather, hurricane destruction and a viral epidemic, has continued every year.
Dawn of the 2023 Ocracoke Christmas Bird Count. Photo: P. Vankevich
Ocracoke’s neighbor to the south, Portsmouth Island, began a CBC in 1988 and only three times thereafter has not been able to run due to severe weather or, as was the case this year, a transportation problem of getting the participants to the island. Many of the volunteers do both counts, which normally run on the last two days of the year.
The weather for Dec. 30 was seasonal for Ocracoke, sunny, 45 to 50 degrees and a sustained westerly wind of 12-20 mph.
Several teams spread out covering the village, Springer’s Point, the South Point and its road, the pony pasture and along the entire beach. Others in the village reported birds seen in their yards and neighborhoods. Waterman Wade Austin reported flocks of Northern Pintail and Lesser Scaup along with several other species in the Pamlico Sound.
The birds observed vary from year to year with a mix of the common wintering species and the occasional rare bird. Over these many years the combined total of species reported is 179 birds. This year, the highlight was two Snow Buntings flittering from the dunes to the beach and back again.
A Snow Bunting. Photo: P. Vankevich
Snow Buntings have the distinction of being the world’s most northern land bird. Circumpolar, they nest in the high latitudes of the Arctic tundra. Their primary North American wintering range is Canada and the upper areas of the United States. Some will show up on the Outer Banks in small numbers from mid-fall into winter, rarely on Ocracoke.
These bird counts attract a lot of loyal participants — some year-round birders like to describe it as their Super Bowl. For them it’s more than just counting birds.
“Each year I look forward to the Audubon Christmas Bird Counts for Ocracoke and Portsmouth Islands,” said Denny Dobbin who has houses on Ocracoke and in Chapel Hill. “I enjoy the camaraderie of fellow birders that turn out each year. It feels like an annual gathering of old friends.”
Janeen Vanhooke and Art Mines pause from the count for a photo op by Peter Vankevich
There is a social side to many of these counts. After the Ocracoke and Portsmouth counts are concluded, there is a “tally rally” for the participants and their families and friends at the compiler’s home. This one is noted for vegetarian chili and key lime pie, among other delicacies. As the birds vary from year to year, the potluck contributions will make the table varied and interesting with dishes like local clam chowder, Scottish short breads and quiche Lorraine.
Janeen Vanhooke, who grew up in Hillsborough and now lives in Framingham, Massachusetts, learned about the bird counts in 2016.
“I was watching Yellow-rumped Warblers in the Widgeon Woods area of the island from my car and this fellow [the compiler] walked up and asked if we were birders,” she said. “When I said yes, he invited us to join the count the following day.
“Although I was scheduled to leave the next day, I headed over to Ocracoke Island Realty to extend the stay for a few days. I loved doing the count and the tally rally social event. So I’ve been coming ever since except for the Hurricane Dorian year and the pandemic.”
Her coverage assignment is primarily along South Point Road, which she does with islander Karen Rhodes, who walks this route daily.
Jeff Beane zooms in on a bird. Photo: P. Vankevich
Jeff Beane, collections manager for herpetology at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, opted to do this count in 1998 and has done every Ocracoke and Portsmouth count ever since. The first of each year he publishes a list of fauna he observes on his year-end visit that also includes trips to the Pea Island and Alligator River wildlife refuges and the Mattamuskeet/Pocosin lakes areas. In addition to bird species, he includes his two passions: reptiles and amphibians along with mammals.
Haven Wiley, professor emeritus of UNC Chapel Hill and his wife Minna, returned to do the count after an absence of two years.
“I taught avian biology for 40 years and now that I’m retired, we enjoy doing these counts,” he said. “The stiff southwest wind kept the sparrows hunkered down. The most interesting bird we saw was a Sora, not an uncommon rail, but hard to see.”
Counting the number of birds per species runs from easy for Bald Eagles, 5, and Belted Kingfishers, 14, to daunting for Double-crested Cormorants, estimated at 40,000 and Yellow-rumped Warblers, 1,031.
The high number of cormorants in eastern North Carolina is linked to the spawning of Atlantic menhaden.
Yellow-rumped warblers, unlike their insect-eating warbler cousins, thrive on the plentiful wax myrtle, cedar and bay berries on the island. The subspecies here is appropriately named the Myrtle Warbler.
Looking at the online count data, one would see that the ubiquitous summer Laughing Gull doesn’t like cold winter. They leisurely migrate south in fall. Only one was reported in this year’s count, which is typical.
There is a provision in tallying Christmas Bird Counts: that species observed three days of each side of the official count date may be listed as a “Count Week” bird.
One rarity making the list on the last eligible day was a Dovekie seen by Jeff Beane and Lloyd Lewis in Silver Lake harbor. Dovekies have had an amazing presence this winter in North Carolina. Normally seen in small numbers well off the coast, which is in the southern wintering range, hundreds have been counted in the state, including several on Ocracoke.
The unofficial tally for this year’s count is 89 species, up from last year’s 80 species. In 2021, total species numbered 87. The two new birds seen this year to bring the historical count total up to 179 were the Snow Bunting and a Black-and-White Warbler.
The tentative schedule for this year’s counts are Portsmouth Island Dec. 30 and Ocracoke on Dec. 31.
To read more about previous Christmas Bird Counts and profiles on the Birds of Ocracoke:
Center Stephanie Flores surrounded by Hatteras Hurricanes goes up for a shot. Photo: P. Vankevich
Wednesday, Jan. 10 An Ocracoke Advisory Planning Board is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Community Center has been canceled. Ferry service to Ocracoke is still suspended following Tuesday’s storm. North end of NC12 on Ocracoke is still closed.
Thursday, Jan. 11 Canceled Ocracoke School varsity basketball teams in the Tank (home) vs. the Washington Montessori Eagles, boys tipoff first, followed by the Lady Dolphins, 4 p.m. Games will broadcast on WOVV, 90.1 FM and online at wovv.org.
Friday, Jan. 12 Postponed due to weather concerns Ocracoke School JV and varsity basketball at Mattamuskeet, First game tipoff, 4 p.m. Games will be broadcast on WOVV, 90.1 FM and online at wovv.org.
This weather report has been updated, 9 p.m., Jan. 7
A strong cold front is expected to impact the Outer Banks on Tuesday and Wednesday, (Jan. 9 to 10), bringing multiple hazards to Ocracoke Island, including high winds, heavy rains and the potential for coastal flooding.
The National Weather Service (NWS) Newport/Morehead City office updated their forecast on Jan. 6 stating that some of these hazards could be significant.
Conditions are expected to deteriorate on Tuesday morning, with the strongest winds and heaviest rains expected Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning.
Strong to severe thunderstorms, and localized flooding from heavy rains, are possible.
Powerful southerly swell, strong winds, and elevated water levels could produce significant overwash and coastal flooding, especially along the immediate coast south of Cape Hatteras, and along the north and west shores of the Pamlico Sound and nearby tributaries.
The exact strength of the winds ahead of the cold front will largely determine the extent of coastal impacts, and more specific details on the local forecast are expected to come into focus within the next several days.
