Hurricane Matthew should be long gone by next weekend when the Outer Banks Seafood Festival takes center stage.Even though it looks as though Hurricane Matthew is going to pass well to the south of the Outer Banks as it heads out to sea, we're still feeling some of the effects of the storm. Nothing at all like Florida is experiencing—and Georgia and South Carolina after that, and we really hope coastal residents in those areas are staying safe and out of the way of the wind and surging seas.
One of the characteristics of tropical systems is they pump a lot of moisture into the atmosphere. That moisture is coming down locally in the form of rain and a lot of it...6-8" on Saturday into Sunday.
That rain—and it's going to be windy too—means two of the best music festivals around had to be canceled. The Mustang Music Festival and the 10th Annual Duck Jazz Festival will not be happening this year.
A piece of good news: The 24th Annual Parade of Homes is going forward, and talking to some of the builders today, it looks as though the turn out was pretty good.
The ocean is certainly stirred up right now, and there has been some overwash; the Beach Road around the Black Pelican is closed and NCDOT crews are working to hold the ocean back, piling sand on the dune line as quickly as they can.
If this weekend seems too wet, think about visiting us next Saturday for the Outer Banks Seafood Festival. The early read is the weather looks great.
For some great information about local effects of Hurricane Matthew, check out the National Weather Service briefing: http://www.weather.gov/media/mhx/LatestBriefing.pdf
