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Sunrise at Lou Mac park. The pier was wiped out in Hurricane Florence. The pier is one of several repairs needed along South Ave. Repairs to the pier are hoped to begin next February.

10:40a Town (and the county) is still cleaning up in our post-Florence world. At this point it seems to move slowly, although lots of things are happening. Homes and business buildings being raised. A few (not many) demolished. If you still have storm debris – it can get picked up, but you only have this month. From Pamlico County:

One key part of town that really got slammed was Keith Bruno’s fishing business – Endurance Seafood. You can read and hear more here.

Keith Bruno’s place is an iconic part of town. He’s working at rebuilding. It is a large mission. Some friends that cared have created a Go Fund Me to help. If you’d like to lend at hand find out more at this link.

In 2017 UNC TV visited Endurance Seafood. It’s a magic look into life as a fisherman. Have a look:

8:55a It’s getting warmer out there. Today’s high near 60. It’ll be even warmer Friday and Saturday, though rain may keep you inside.

Tonight, there is a Christmas Festival of Music at Pamlico High School. Middle, High School, and the community band will perform together.

2:38p Cute kids, semi-cute parade masters, tractors and Nativity scenes: pictures from the Spirit of Christmas are here.

The Spirit Of Christmas parade included the Pamlico Hurricanes marching band. They will be playing again this Saturday – this time at a football game. Pamlico High’s Pamlico Hurricanes play for the Division 1A State Football Championship this weekend. The Hurricanes square off against the Murphy Bulldogs, 3p at Wallace Wade Stadium (Duke) in Durham. Want to attend the game? You can buy tickets online.

1:14p A corroded cable has been replaced. HarborCam is back.

6:55a It’s colddd this morning. 31. It will get warmer quickly though (warmer – maybe not warm.) The Hour-by-Hour says 40s by mid-morning and 50 by afternoon.

The forecast does have some truly seasonably warm days in it. Sunny and near 60 Thursday. Friday and Saturday mid-60s but likely wet. Sunday may be the perfect weekend day ahead – sunny and about 60.

HarborCam hasn’t worked since yesterday. TownDock geek staff think a solution will be in place sometime today. Since you can’t see Hodges Street & the harbor this morning… there is good news. Water levels back down – Hodges Street is dry.

9:37a The sun is out. Water levels trending thankfully lower. The Cherry Branch ferry is back operating.

7:22a From Sue Kinner at the Cherry Branch – Minnesott Beach Ferry:

6:42a No snow in Oriental overnight. Water levels are still high – Hodges St. has standing water – but not as high as yesterday (levels at or just under 2 ft.) Today’s high is in the upper 40s.

Oriental Weather Station recorded a high wind of 22 mph at 5:23a this morning and overnight temps down to 36.

Local schools and Pamlico Community College are on a two hour opening delay due to concerns about road conditions.

9:01p Black ice early Tuesday? That concern is causing delays:

7:55p After midnight… a chance of snow. Not much, but a chance.

3:57p Water levels are stubborn – hanging in at about 2 ft above normal all day – see HarborCam. Winds are forecast to become more northwest (instead of north) Tuesday, which should cause levels to recede some more. It may be a slow level decline though, taking a few days. Come Thursday night southeast winds which will make any remaining higher levels go away.

• Oriental NC Weather Forecast
• Oriental NC Weather Station
• Neuse River Marine Forecast
• Pamlico Sound Marine Forecast
• Newport / Morehead City NC Weather Radar
• NOAA Weather Radio Stream

9:28a If you still need help in recovering from Hurricane Florence, this may be of interest. From Pamlico County:

8:04a Even a heron was seeking high ground this morning:

7:02a Despite wading level waters, Amron reports The Bean is open.

6:38a Water levels are down significantly from last night, back to about 2 ft above normal. A combination of lower wind levels and the winds shifting to northwest let waters recede.

The Oriental Weather Station shows wind levels in the past 24 hours. They peaked yesterday just before 6p, and have trended down since:

Today north winds 15-20 forecast, high 45. More rain expected, but nothing like Sunday. We got 2.78 inches yesterday. Tuesday will be clear & dry, high mid 40s.

Still no ferry this morning. From Cherry Branch:

8:39p Water levels now 3 to 3/12 ft above normal. Water on Hodges Street stretches all the way to the South Water Street intersection.

From Pamlico County Schools:

Water levels could get a bit higher still (the potential surge forecast has increased to 2-4 ft.) Overnight north winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph. Monday… north winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.

5:08p Since midnight 2.35 inches of rain. We’ve seen wind peaks up to 41 mph this afternoon. A look at weather radar (above) and it appears the worst of the rain will end in the next hour. Winds, however… will stay brisk tonight.

Monday more high winds, a little lower, but gusts into the mid 30s forecast.

3:57p We’ve had some brief winds over 40mph – the Oriental Weather Station clocked 41mph at 3:31p.

Cocooning inside today and watching the storm? NOAA Weather Radio adds some nautical flavor – click here.

12:12p The wind forecast is proving true. High wind so far 39mph at 11:44a.

10:08a. The Bean is open (closing early today at 12:30p)… just get out your favorite boots for the visit.

With the level gauge not operational until at least spring (destroyed by Hurricane Florence)… how deep is it? No, that isn’t a philosophical question. The King Tide “gauge” at the Town Dock is what we used this morning:
You’d think that means a 54 inch surge. It doesn’t. The gauge reads about 35 inches at “normal” levels. So we have about 2 ft of wind tide surge at this writing.

More wind and rain coming… up to a 3 ft surge is possible. High wind so far today 31 mph at 9:51a.. The rain forecast is similar, 2 to 3 inches. So far about 9/10 of an inch has fallen. Town is soggy.

8:07a No ferry today. From Cherry Branch:

8:37p We are in for a windy & wet ride. Southeast weather radar at right shows all the moisture heading our way (click that image for the big view.) Sunday 2 to 3 inches of rain likely.

Windy? Here is the Neuse forecast for the nest few days:
Gale Warning In Effect Sunday Afternoon Through Late Sunday Night.
• Sun… Ne Winds 20 To 25 Kt, Increasing To 25 To 35 Kt In The Afternoon.
• Sun Night… N Winds 20 To 30 Kt With Gusts Up To 35 Kt.
• Mon… N Winds 15 To 20 Kt. Gusts Up To 30 Kt In The Morning.
• Tue… N Winds 15 To 20 Kt.
• Wed… N Winds 5 To 10 Kt.

All that northeast & north wind will deliver some wind surge – two to three feet possible. It’s safe to say that Hodges St will be flooded Sunday and likely through Tuesday.

• Oriental NC Weather Forecast
• Oriental NC Weather Station
• Pamlico Sound Marine Forecast
• Neuse River Marine Forecast
• Southeast Weather Radar
• Newport / Morehead City NC Weather Radar

3:50p Spirit Of Christmas continues into the evening. At 5p the Christmas Cantata at Oriental First Baptist Church on Broad Street. Then at 8p the Pamlico Chorale performs at St. Thomas Episcopal on Second Street.

The Parade Judges have made their decisions. FYI, the Judges were on the New Village Brewery porch, and may have consumed beverage(s) from said establishment.

Winning Best Overall – The United Drum Line of Aurora. After that – there were a lot of awards:

10:47a Will it rain on our parade? We’ve voting no. The hour by hour forecast says a 45% chance of rain. Bunky, you’re good with math. That’s a 55% chance of not raining.

Parade onward.

Parade Master Lance Burgo tells TownDock that there are 46 parade entries, ready to bravely bring you cheer. Santa will be at the end, on a Coast Guard provided sleigh. The parade begins at 1p.

You’ll hear talk of snow in the forecast. Not here… but for maybe Goldsboro, definitely Raleigh and points west. We are simply in for a lot of rain Sunday.

Sunday will bring high water. While we will see much rain (2” or more likely), the high water will come more from wind. 20 to 30 mph northeast winds, with gusts into the 40s. A gale warning in effect.

4:45p Lighted kayaks, Christmas carols and the lighting of the Oriental Star. Be at the town dock by 5p. The complete Spirit Schedule is here.

3:37p Congratulation to Billy Flockhart & Orientals Piggly Wiggly. Last night the Pamlico Chamber Of Commerce awarded Billy Business of the Year. Well deserved:

7:53a Spirit of Christmas begins today at noon. There are small events happening at businesses all over town, but the big ones are tonight: star lighting and caroling, and the kayak parade in Oriental Harbor at 5p, then the Pamlico Chorale at St. Thomas Episcopal Church at 7p.

Tomorrow at 1, it’s the Spirit of Christmas Parade. Check out the full schedule for today and tomorrow.

5:50p Raise a house in the dark? How about the Old Hotel.

That is exactly what is happening tonight. The crew from “Expert House Movers” has been preparing to raise the Old Hotel for the past two days. They have it at a point where they are ready. Now you’d think they would wait until morning. Sunlight and all that.

Nope. They are doing it right now. It is up about two feet just in the last 20 minutes. Their goal is to raise it 6 feet. A new 4 foot foundation will be built underneath, and then the building lowered on to that. It ultimately will go up 4 feet to escape future hurricane surge.

The view a few minutes ago:


click image for larger view

11:41a Spirit of Christmas Luminaria are a third of the way done. The second part, candle lighting and bag stuffing, happens today at 3:30p at Station 19 Fire Station on Straight Rd. Tomorrow, they’ll be deployed along Oriental’s streets.

9:40a The Spirit Of Christmas schedule is online – click here.

7:54a Houses in Oriental flooded by Hurricane Florence are getting raised… or razed. Here’s a raised example. This is Wilma Kennedy’s house on S. Water St. The raising crew removed enough of the foundation Tuesday to get the liftin’ stuff under. Wednesday it only took them a couple hours to send the house high. Foundation work comes next… then it gets lowered onto that new foundation.

The Old Hotel is expected to get raised later today, or early Friday.

4:12p Last night Oriental’s town board had it’s December meeting. There is a new lower 35mph speed limit on Broad Street where it had been 45, calming traffic for bicyclists and pedestrians. Also an update on post Florence repairs – here is the story.

3:34p There is some raising going on in town. Two different house raising crews were at work today in the “downtown” area of Oriental. On South Water St Wilma Kennedy’s home was raised – now some 6 ft higher than it had been.

Hodges Street (near Broad) is closed for a few days this week as the “Old Hotel” is getting raised. It has been flooded three times in the last 15 years. Isabel (2003) then Irene (2011) and this year Hurricane Florence. Building owner Henry Frazer says the Old Hotel will get raised 4 feet (it flooded about 20 inches in Florence.) That will put it over any of the flood levels, and Frazer notes it should maintain its traditional appearance by not raising it too much.

8:37a There’s a deadline for storm debris pickup: January 1. That will be the last pass for the county trucks to pick up any construction debris or green waste. From the county manager’s office:

FYI, today much of the Federal gov’t is closed. Today has been set aside as a national day of mourning for former President George H.W. Bush.

What’s closed today:
Federal offices and agencies – Closed except for “essential” services.
Social Security offices – Closed, including field offices.
Financial markets – The New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, closed.
U.S. Postal Service – Limited operations, no mail delivery.

First Citizens Bank in Oriental is open today.

8:17p Tonight’s town meeting was very brief. The Board discussed the holiday schedule, the final Hurricane Florence debris pickup date, and the installation of the new 35 mph sign reducing the speed limit between the Piggly Wiggly and the Village Health Club.

3:48p Spirit Of Christmas is coming this weekend, Friday & Saturday. Saturday is the parade. Maybe you should be in it.

10:52a Oriental received another grant to help fund the restoration of Whittaker Point. With two Whittaker-centric projects and four grants, there might be a bit of confusion. TownDock.net reports the most recent grant and how it affects ongoing projects.

7:58a High today will be mid 50s. The rest of the week, high temps fluctuate from high 40s to low 50s.

There’s a Town Meeting tonight at the Town Hall, starting at 7p. View tonight’s agenda here.

The building that used to house the Trawl Door has been around since 1913-1915. It’s housed a grocery, a hardware store, a restaurant, and other retail businesses. Hurricane Florence flooded it for the third time this century and the decision was made to take it down. The Oriental History Museum sent in a type-written history of the building up to when it housed the Trawl Door restaurant. You can read it here.

7:15a Fog. Deep fog. But not for long (already thinning.)

Today is the warm day of the week. High mid 70s, partly sunny. It gets cooler (but not too cool) starting Tuesday and for the rest of the week, daytime highs 50 to 55.

Luminaria. They appear to just happen. But it takes volunteers… you can help this week.

12:34p Today isn’t just the first of December. Hurricane season is officially over – it runs from June 1 through November 30.

Hurricane cleanup season knows no such calendar. It continues…

7:48a Welcome to December. Oddly, December 2018 debuts with a warm day. The overnight low was just 54, and today’s high will get into the upper 60s… maybe reaching 70. Sunday’s high lower 70s. It’s a lot warmer than a couple days ago – here’s the temperature graphic from the Oriental Weather Station:

Today is likely to see rain. That rain is more likely starting this afternoon and into the evening.