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North Carolina, USA · North America · northern hemisphere
The Outer Banks is at its best for lakes & coastline in May to June and September to October. Good but not prime in April, July and August. Crowds peak in July and bottom out in December.
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swimming | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 40 | 67 | 90 | 90 | 67 | 44 | 15 | 13 |
| Lakes & Coastline | 13 | 15 | 39 | 68 | 90 | 90 | 66 | 67 | 89 | 91 | 45 | 16 |
| Wildlife | 15 | 42 | 67 | 90 | 90 | 67 | 15 | 15 | 90 | 90 | 67 | 15 |
| Crowds |
Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.
A barrier island chain on one road and a ferry, which means a single accident or a storm overwash can strand the southern islands — and Hatteras and Ocracoke are the reason to come
Changeover Saturdays in July, when every weekly rental turns over at once and the one road becomes a car park. And September, which is the peak of hurricane season here.
July, and the rental changeover days all season, when the bridge traffic backs up for hours
Rip currents are the real risk and the leading weather killer on the Carolina coast — the shallow sound-side water on the west of the islands is the safer side for small children, with real Atlantic surf on the east.
Nags Head and Duck are the expensive, developed end. Hatteras Island is an hour further south, half the price, and has the emptiest beaches on the east coast. Ocracoke is ferry-only and another world again.
September is the peak. There is one road down the islands, so overwash closes access and evacuation orders are a normal part of the year here.Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct
Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.
0 is this destination’s own quietest month and 100 its busiest. The scale never compares one destination to another. Source: Wikipedia — Nags Head, North Carolina