Durham family riding out Hurricane Arthur along the Outer Banks
NAGS HEAD, NC (WTVD) -- Jason Gullie and his family are used to life on the water. The family of five lives off Falls Lake in Durham. But their vacation home in Nags Head sits on a much more risky stretch of land, at least this week.
With Hurricane Arthur just hours away from landfall along the Outer Banks, thousands have evacuated from the beach towns south of Oregon Inlet. But the Gullies are staying put in Nags Head, which is north of the mandatory evacuation zone.
"We're just trying to see which path it was going to take", Gullie told us.
The lower Outer Banks, Hatteras Island, may take a direct hit from the Category 1 hurricane which is predicted to gain steam and strengthen into a Cat 2 by the time it reaches these barrier islands.
Gullie explained, "I've been out here through other hurricanes ... I don't want to ride out much more than a [Category] 2".
The Gullies are foregoing hurricane shutters this storm, confident their vacation home can stand up to the storm. According to Gullie, "We've raised the boats up and tied everything off under the house and on the boat lift. And we've got everything raised up and hopefully got it secure".
A Category 2 storm could bring winds of up to 110 miles per hour. But Dare County Emergency Management officials tell Eyewitness News they are not expecting hurricane force winds in the northern Outer Banks. Of course Mother Nature always has the final say.
On the day before the Fourth of July in Nags Head, the Gullies of Durham insist on business as usual. The children were net fishing and mom and dad were preparing for more family to arrive for Independence Day festivities at the beach house.
But Jason Gullie said he knows that a short vacation break is coming and its name is Arthur.
"The house sits up on stilts. It kind of gets to rocking and rolling a little bit ... So we'll ride it out and see what happens," he said.
