Date: September 1, 2006
Three National Park Service Campgrounds reopened at noon on Friday, September 01, 2006: Ocracoke, Frisco and Oregon Inlet Campgrounds are open for business as usual. Campers may experience areas of standing water and should be alert to the possibility of reptiles (including poisonous snakes) and amphibians that may have been flooded out of their normal habitats. Cape Point Campground will remain closed for the season. This campground was scheduled to close for the season on September 4, 2006. Much of the campground still has extensive standing water and campsites are not suitable for occupancy. Commercial campgrounds in the area remain open.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse will reopen on Saturday, September 2, 2006, at the normal time; 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center and gates will open Saturday, September 2, 2006 at 9:00 a.m.
All lifeguarded beaches in the Seashore are closed in swimming. The Town of Nags Head has posted red flags warnings from Coquina Beach north. Hazardous surf and rip current conditions exist in the ocean waters and pose a danger to all swimmers.
The following National Park Service Concessions are open for business as usual: the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, Avon Fishing Pier, Lost Colony and Elizabethan Gardens.
As Tropical Depression Ernesto heads north through Virginia, rain has ended and diminishing winds shifted to the south west in the Outer Banks Region. Rt. 12 through the Seashore has reopened but motorists can expect standing water and blowing sand.
For more information on North Carolina and Virginia Highway road conditions check the following websites: www.ncsmartlink.org or http://virginiadot.org.
