Hurricane Arthur 7-14 N. Carolina

North Carolina coast survives Hurricane Arthur

Arthur passes through the area in Nags Head, N.C., Friday, July 4, 2014.
A vehicle sits in rising waters as Hurricane Arthur passes through the area in Nags Head, N.C., Friday, July 4, 2014.This NOAA satellite image taken Friday, July 4, 2014 at 01:45 a.m. EDT, shows Hurricane Arthur rolling across the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where hurricane conditions were reported early on the morning of the 4th. Arthur will continue on a northeastward trek Friday into Saturday, producing flooding rain and damaging wind gusts over much of the coastal Northeast, in addition to the Canadian Maritimes. Meanwhile, a cold front was responsible for a band of clouds and thunderstorms over the Northeast. Much of the rest of the eastern U.S. was clear as high pressure was building into the region.A military vehicle and a man navigate a flooded Highway 64 as wind pushes water over the road while Hurricane Arthur passes through Nags Head, N.C., Friday, July 4, 2014.A man surfs at Wrightsville Beach, N.C. on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 ahead of potential rain and wind forecast later in the week from tropical storm Arthur, the first named storm of the year.Stefano Campodonico, of Miami, body boards a small wave in Miami Beach, Fla., Tuesday, July 1, 2014. Tropical Storm Arthur has formed off the central Florida coast, becoming the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says a tropical storm watch is in effect for the state's east coast, from Fort Pierce to Flagler Beach.Kite boarder Pete Nero secures his kite as darks clouds and rain move in on the north end of Carolina Beach, N.C., Thursday, July 3, 2014. Residents along the coast of North Carolina are bracing for the arrival of the Hurricane Arthur, which threatens to give the state a glancing blow on Independence Day.Carol Palmer of King George, Va. loads a car with her family's belongings as they prepare to leave Hatteras Village, N.C., on Thursday, July 3, 2014. Hurricane Arthur is forecast to pass by North Carolina's Hatteras Island Friday morning. The island is under mandatory evacuation orders. MAGS OUT


KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. (AP) — Proving far less damaging than feared, Hurricane Arthur left tens of thousands of people without power Friday in a swipe at North Carolina's dangerously exposed Outer Banks, then brought lousy Fourth of July beach weather to parts of the Northeast as it veered out to sea.

The weather along the narrow barrier islands — where beaches draw hundreds of thousands of tourists every summer — had already cleared by Friday afternoon as Arthur scooted north and its outer bands scraped the Delaware and New Jersey shores. Forecasters predicted the storm would weaken before its center moves over western Nova Scotia in Canada early Saturday.

While state and local officials worked to restore access to Hatteras Island and help those who had suffered storm and flooding damage, the effects of the hurricane were mostly confined to that part of the state. Farther south, the beaches were once again packed with people soaking up the sun.

"The North Carolina beaches are open for business and they're open for tourists," Gov. Pat McCrory said. "The umbrellas are going up as we speak right now."

Arthur struck North Carolina as a Category 2 storm with winds of 100 mph late Thursday, taking about five hours to move across the far eastern part of the state.

At the height of the storm, more than 40,000 people lost power, and the rush of water from the ocean on one side and the sound on the other side buckled part of North Carolina Highway 12 in a spot on Hatteras Island that was breached in Hurricane Irene in 2011. Dozens of workers were heading to fix the highway, and the Department of Transportation said it was confident the road would reopen Saturday as long as an underwater sonar test of a key bridge showed no problems.

No injuries or deaths were reported. After praising emergency officials and saying the state dodged a bullet, McCrory said he was heading to the beach himself for an Independence Day parade in Southport.

By Friday night, the hurricane had weakened to a Category 1 storm with 75 mph winds. Its center was about 75 miles (120 km) east-southeast of Chatham, Massachusetts.

While the Northeast wasn't expected to take a direct hit, the rain from Arthur's outer bands was disrupting the holiday. Rain from Hurricane Arthur disrupted some New York-area Independence Day celebrations but cleared in time for the nation's largest fireworks display in the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Tropical storm warnings were in effect for coastal areas as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Tropical storm watches and warnings were in effect for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in southeastern Canada.

Still, the first hurricane known to strike the U.S. on July 4 caused some frayed nerves on North Carolina's Outer Banks — a 200-mile string of narrow barrier islands with about 57,000 permanent residents and around 250,000 visitors on most summer weekends. A mandatory evacuation was issued for the southern Outer Banks. But while most visitors left, many residents stayed, accustomed to hurricanes that strike the area on average about every four or five years.

Jesse and Carol Wray rode out the storm in their home in Salvo on North Carolina Highway 12. They said the island was under several feet of water at the height of the storm. The six-foot-tall lamppost at the end of their driveway was under water except for its top, and that was after the sound a quarter-mile away receded several feet.

"There's a lot of damage to a lot of houses around here," Wray said. "Everything flooded out. All the businesses are flooded, and there was a lot of wind damage."

The bulk of the flooding and other damage on Hatteras Island appeared to have happened in the island's midsection in the villages of Rodanthe and Salvo. Farther south in Buxton, Angela Tawes is eager for the road to reopen, the ferries to resume and tourists to return with their money.

"We're all just holding our breath and hoping right now," said Tawes, whose family owns a grocery store, Conner's Supermarket.

Arthur is the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It is the earliest in the season a hurricane has made landfall in North Carolina.

McCrory said people in states to the northeast should need to warnings about Arthur, even if North Carolina came through better than expected.

"I encourage them to take this very seriously as we did and hope for the best results," the North Carolina governor said. "We've always felt that it was better to overreact than underreact, gladly this storm was more underwhelming than anticipated, which was very good news."