Ferry service resumed on part of the storm-battered Outer Banks Saturday morning while other areas remained off-limits due to four feet of flooding from the week’s powerful nor’easter.
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Service between Ocracoke Island and the mainland resumed at 7 a.m. Saturday, the N.C. Ferry Division reported.
This schedule is in effect Saturday and Sunday, officials said:
• Ocracoke to Cedar Island: 7:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
• Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
N.C. 12 on the north end of Ocracoke remains closed and ferry service suspended, officials said.
“We are using our Hatteras ferries to carry NCDOT road equipment onto Ocracoke to help clear it!” NCDOT officials said on social media site X. “Once NC12 reopens, we will be able to resume regular service between Hatteras and Ocracoke.”
Road access to and from Hatteras Island remained closed Saturday, according to Dare County.
N.C. 12, the main road on the Outer Banks, was closed between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, county officials said
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NCDOT crews worked to restore the protective berm and clear the highway, but it’s uncertain when the highway will reopen, officials said.
Travel between Hatteras Island villages remains open, and the county is working to get trucks with food, fuel, medical supplies and other essentials to the island as soon as access opens.
In a beach hazards statement Saturday morning, National Weather Service meteorologists said 2 to 4 feet of flooding was expected “in low-lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways.
“Dangerous rip currents and large breaking waves expected in the surf zone,” according to the statement by the NWS office in Newport/Morehead City. “Low-lying property including homes, businesses, and some critical infrastructure will be inundated.”
This story was originally published September 26, 2026 at 12:17 PM with the headline “Ferry service resumes as NC flooding keeps some parts of OBX closed.”
Read more Ferry service resumes as NC flooding keeps some parts of OBX closed