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My husband and I are looking for a coastal community to retire to in the next few years. We thought Southport sounded like a lovely option. We enjoy the ocean, but do not want the cost or weather threat that accompanies a beachfront home.
Does anybody know how bad the weather can get in the Southport area? We are from Chicago, so naturally we are used to lousy weather, but hurricanes and tropical storms are a little out of our league.
Get good insurance and if a hurricane is coming....evacuate ASAP!!!!
Just kidding. It's really not that bad. The weather reports will tell you when a hurricane is forming and as it gets closer (this takes several days) you can plan accordingly. A hurricane is a like an extremely bad storm. Lots of rain, strong winds, trees falling, a few small tornados, windows blown out, etc. Most of the time you are without electricity for a few days afterwards. Some houses on the beach are completely demolished in a strong hurricane. The hurricanes are categorized based on how strong the winds are. If it's a 1 or 2, not so bad. Anything higher than that, take the preparations very seriously and take cover! The worst I've personally seen is a category 3 (the categories go up to a 5).
A tropical storm is less intense than a hurricane.
If you live really close to the beach (within a few miles), you probably need to go more inland to a shelter or friend before the hurricane hits. They usually have mandatory evacuations for the beach areas (for the safety of the residents).
Well, we originally thought about moving to a home on Sea Trail Golf and Vacation Resort in Sunset Beach, NC which is just 1 1/2 miles from the ocean, but it doesn't exactly capture the boating atmosphere my husband loves. It is more of a golfing atmosphere. Southport sounds more appealing, but is it far enough away from the water to be safe in a Category 3 Hurricane?
yes there will be a port coming to southport but that will not happen till 2018
i have been all up and down the coastline of north carolina but my favorite is
southport we couldnot afford the prices there so we bought in a water acess
community called river run plantation off of sunset harbour road about 20 minute drive from southport.
Well, we originally thought about moving to a home on Sea Trail Golf and Vacation Resort in Sunset Beach, NC which is just 1 1/2 miles from the ocean, but it doesn't exactly capture the boating atmosphere my husband loves. It is more of a golfing atmosphere. Southport sounds more appealing, but is it far enough away from the water to be safe in a Category 3 Hurricane?
Thanks!
You need to be a MINIMUM of 100 miles inland during a Cat 3, if they're expecting a direct hit or close hit to your location on the beach. And even then, that's a 2 hour drive inland, and WE get ALOT of damage from a Cat 3--some wind damage, lots of downed trees & powerlines. When Fran & Floyd came through, we had lots of damage (with Fran, we were w/o electricity for a week), and we're 100 miles inland near Ft. Bragg.
Ma'am Raleigh and Charlotte are not totally safe from Category 3 storms 150 miles inland. Pick a strong house on high ground and you'll do fine. Check the FEMA Maps of the properties you look at.
Southport area has plenty of houses out of the flood zones. Hurricanes in NC are like Tornadoes in the Midwest. Mother Nature will do as she will and all you can be is prepared and make a good choice on your homesite.
Someone from the "Windy City" concerned about hurricanes??
Just kidding!!
Excellent post Oldscout!! Everybody-Write this in stone and refer to it often!: Ma'am Raleigh and Charlotte are not totally safe from Category 3 storms 150 miles inland. Pick a strong house on high ground and you'll do fine. Check the FEMA Maps of the properties you look at.
I'd have to agree with Bill. Hurricanes can be massive in size. Hundreds of miles in diameter. Here's a satellite photo of a hurricane off the coast on NC in which you can see how far inland it extends. Keep in mind, NC is almost 600 miles from end to end.
A better question to ask would be, what's the historical probability of storm damage for a specific area? While the entire state is at risk, some areas are much riskier than others, as noted by the insurance industry in setting their homeowner's rates.
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