Abstract:
The last major storm to strike the Outer Banks was on Ash Wednesday, March 5, 1962. The devastating storm destroyed hundreds of beach homes, as well as a large percentage of protective sand dunes from Dare and Currituck counties up to the Virginia state line. Wind gusts up to seventy miles per hour were recorded at Nags Head. At Southern Shores, sand drifts covered houses up to the roof tops. Although property damages totaled $12 million, only two people lost their lives. The National Weather Service declared the storm to be an abnormality, and no major storms have devastated the Outer Banks since.