Several waterspouts are reported along NC’s Outer Banks as Hurricane Lee pounds the ocean

Multiple waterspouts were reported off North Carolina’s Outer Banks as Hurricane Lee continued to wreak havoc on Atlantic conditions along the East Coast.

Video recorded by the Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue shows a kiss appeared Wednesday, September 13, as a storm raged in front of Rodanthe at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Rodanthe Pier staff also reported a waterspout, noting in a Facebook message that it was accompanied by rough surf.

“We have received several reports of waterspouts associated with thunderstorms affecting the area today,” the National Weather Service posted at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

“For those near the water, please be aware of nearby storms and be prepared to take shelter.”

The reports also included water spills in the Pamlico Sound, between the Outer Banks and the North Carolina mainland, according to WITN Chief Meteorologist Zach Holder.

Waterspouts linked to ocean storms are referred to as tornadic waterspouts and “have the same characteristics as a land tornado,” the National Weather Service reports. “They are … often accompanied by high winds and seas, great hail, and often dangerous lightning.”

Hurricane Lee is expected to remain about 300 miles east of the Outer Banks as it moves north, according to the National Hurricane Center, but the storm’s strong winds will reach the islands, Holder reports.

The storm is expected to cause coastal flooding and “breaking waves of 10 to 15 feet in the surf zone.”

Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras national seashores have posted warnings that rough surf and rip currents have increased, making it too dangerous for swimmers to go to the ocean.