Nightmarish Outer Banks ferry ride during storm so violent it cracked car’s windshield and started flooding vehicle with water

DAILYMAIL.COM • 1h ago

By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR, US NEWS REPORTER 19:21 19 Oct 2026, updated 19:22 19 Oct 2026

A ferry ride in North Carolina turned into a nightmare after a violent storm whipped up strong winds and terrifying waves – cracking one car’s windshield and flooding the vehicle with water.

Megan Lawing was visiting Ocracoke Island with her family when the coastal storm that has battered the Outer Banks took a turn for the worse on Saturday morning.

‘It was about 8.30 in the morning when we got there, and we didn’t get on till 12.30,’ she told 10 On Your Side.

As she sat in her car aboard the ferry, she captured footage of water crashing onto her windshield and waves lapping onto the front of the deck.

‘We had like front row seats to the whole thing, and it was pretty nuts. I’ve been coming to Ocracoke for 18 years every year and I’ve never experienced anything like that before,’ Lawing added.

The waters lashed against cars with such force that it caused serious damage.

‘The car beside of us had been hit so hard that the windshield cracked,’ she recalled to the outlet.

‘The woman started honking her horn to get the ferry people to come down. They came down and helped escort her out, but water was starting to get into her car and that’s when I started getting scared.’

Lawing said once the ferry reached land, she really processed the frightening ride.

‘Once you got to land, it was just kind of like, “Wow, that was actually pretty scary,”‘ she recalled.

The storm prompted Dare County officials to warn locals to keep off the roads due to potentially hazardous conditions, as winds reached up to 50 mph, Fox 8 reported.

A mandatory evacuation was ordered for visitors on Hatteras Island on Friday over potential flooding, as Dare County’s emergency management director Drew Pearson told the outlet: ‘We have had great response to the mandatory evacuation of Hatteras Island for our visitors.’

‘That was a protective measure we had to put in place to keep people safe,’ Pearson added.

Pearson further warned residents to keep off roads as the next high tide on Sunday may bring wash onto the highway.

‘Whether it’s Highway 12 or any other road down there, if there’s water on the roads, they need to turn around and not drive through the water,’ he said.

‘They need to protect their property, stay away from the sound front and the ocean front and take care of themselves. Practice that good resiliency that they all know down on Hatteras Island.’

Pearson added that the storm is expected to be ‘persisting for a few days.’

A major nor’easter has been forming off the US East Coast, as officials have issued flood warnings from Florida to Massachusetts.

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said: ‘The most significant coastal impacts are expected close to the center of the storm, potentially on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, southeastern Virginia and the beach communities of Maryland and Delaware.’

Wind gusts of up to 70mph may be seen from North Carolina to southern New Jersey on Monday and Tuesday, hitting coastal communities including Atlantic City, Ocean City and Virginia Beach.

The nor’easter has also triggered an official Storm Warning in the Atlantic, affecting anyone traveling 70 to 300 miles off the US East Coast around the Mid-Atlantic states.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued Coastal Flood Advisories in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey through Wednesday, affecting more than three million people along the Atlantic.

High Surf Advisories in several locations warn that large breaking waves of roughly seven to 14 feet will be possible, creating dangerous swimming conditions and strong rip currents that pull people out into the ocean.

Forecasters warn that the storm’s dangerous impacts throughout the week will be the same regardless of whether the NWS declares it a named tropical cyclone or not and urged Americans to prepare for days of flooding, particularly during high tide.

AccuWeather expert meteorologist Elizabeth Danco added in a statement: ‘The biggest concern with this storm isn’t just how strong winds become, but how long coastal communities will have to endure them.’

‘When water is pushed toward the coast for days, it may not have enough time to drain away between high tides. That can turn what might otherwise be a manageable flooding event into a prolonged disruption, with roads repeatedly underwater and beaches losing more sand with each passing tide cycle.’

While initial forecasts suggested that the storm would weaken and start moving away from the US by Thursday, AccuWeather’s latest predictions show the nor’easter becoming ‘nearly stationary’ and prolonging coastal flooding on Wednesday and Thursday.

Coastal flooding and beach erosion are expected to spread farther north along the New Jersey coast, Long Island, New York and into southern New England.

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