Dare County has ordered all visitors to leave Hatteras Island on North Carolina's Outer Banks as a slow-moving nor'easter threatens days of flooding, the Island Free Press and WRAL reported. The order took effect at 8 p.m. Friday and covers the island's seven villages, from Rodanthe to Hatteras, the Island Free Press reported. Residents were not ordered to leave, the Island Free Press and WRAL reported. On Saturday at noon, county officials said the window to leave safely was "rapidly closing," WRAL reported.

The National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City said early Sunday that 2 to 4 feet of flooding above ground level is expected in low-lying areas of Hatteras Island. Parts of N.C. Highway 12 may flood around high tide, and people could be stranded for several days, the weather service said. Its coastal flood warning runs until 5 p.m. Tuesday.

No ocean overwash reached Highway 12 during Saturday's midday high tide, though blowing sand and sea foam were reported on Pea Island, the Island Free Press reported. The paper reported that forecasters expect the worst flooding during high tides on Sunday and Monday.

Ferry service to Ocracoke Island was suspended on Saturday, WITN and WRAL reported. Megan Lawing, who rode the last ferry before the suspension, said the trip quickly became scary, and a video she shared shows a car's windshield cracked by waves, WITN reported.

The Island Free Press reported that ordering visitors off Hatteras Island ahead of a nor'easter is unusual, since such orders have usually come before hurricanes. A nor'easter in late September damaged Highway 12 near the Pea Island Visitor Center and cut off highway access to the island for several days, the paper reported.

What we know: Visitors must leave Hatteras Island, and a coastal flood warning runs until Tuesday evening.
What we don't: Whether Highway 12 will close and for how long.