Ophelia, i feel ya. Having been amongst the folks that were evacuated from the outer banks I have this to report. I arrived in Friday, the 9th of Sept. to my delight winds were in the upper 20's. The next day, I decided to paddle out on my surfboard to give it a try as the sea started to appear a little angry as the winds crept up to 30. Paddling through the shore break wasn't that difficult but finding a place to hang out and rest before catching a wave was, so I gave it up. On Sunday, about the same winds with higher seas. We were staying on the ocean side in Rodanthe, and there were some houses experiencing breaking waves underneath them.

Monday about the same but the sun would peak out on occasion, still with winds around 30. Tuesday morning the sun was out, the sea was almost flat and the wind was less than 10. About 11:30am the realtor called with instructions to evacuate, which was mandatory. We packed up and got out of Doge within the next few hours. Hwy 12 was a mess with traffic and I sought refuge in Rocky Mount, NC about 100 miles inland of OBX. There were reports of all the water leaving the sound and flooding on the west banks of the sound. Then Ophelia came with easterly winds bringing the water back with a little extra surge, that brought some flooding but was minimal.

I'm told they are pushing the dunes and water off of 12 and everything else there will be back to nomal there next week.

Danny