Erosion and recovery: Sound-side inundation of Cape Lookout National Seashore during Hurricane Dorian

Abstract

Hurricane Dorian tracked immediately offshore of Cape Lookout National Seashore (which includes the barrier islands of North and South Core Banks) and Ocracoke Island after devastating the Bahamas in early September, 2019. Dorian briefly made landfall at Cape Hatteras as a Category 1 hurricane on September 6 before moving northeast over the Atlantic Ocean. Winds on the Outer Banks, initially more than 40 m/s (about 90 mph) from the southeast, drove ocean waves and storm surge against the islands and pushed water across Pamlico Sound, resulting in elevated water levels in the sound’s northwestern rivers and creeks.